Love You Like I'm Going to Lose You
by DrarryLover4Ever
Summary: Draco and Harry share a moment during the battle and something changes between them. Fast forward a few days and Harry goes unconscious and stays that way for six weeks. Draco goes to thank him despite him being in a coma and when he falls asleep next to Harry's bed, he appears in the Gryffindor dorms and that's where the story starts. Better summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Another story popped into my head in the past couple of weeks so I'm nearly done with it and it's time to post it. I love it! I love it like a lot lol For the most part it will be from Draco's POV, but eventually and I will make it obvious who's POV it is, it will switch between him and Harry.**

 **Summary: The story takes off after the Battle of Hogwarts. When Harry rescues Draco from the Room of Requirement, they have a moment that sets in motion a whole set of new feelings that Draco has for Harry. Harry speaks at his trial and keeps Draco from Azkaban. After that point is when the story takes off. Five days after the war ended, Harry falls into a coma and no one is sure why. Draco wonders daily about him and tries to build the courage to thank him for saving him from the Room of Requirement and for his statement at his trial. He finally, after Harry has been unconscious for six weeks, goes to St. Mungo's to thank him. He falls asleep while he's there and is brought to Hogwarts where he and Harry spend time together on a different plane of existence. A lot happens between them and while Draco remembers every moment while he's awake, he worries that Harry will not remember when he wakes up. Whatever is happening in there, is affecting Harry on the outside and bringing him closer to waking up. What will happen when Harry does wake-up? Will he remember all that they have shared?**

 **Disclaimer: Not my characters at all and it doesn't follow the ending of HP very much (obviously).**

 **Enjoy!**

My seventh year had been spent fearing for my life, living with a mad man. My father was broken. My mother was barely keeping it together. My life hung in the balance and depended on one person: Harry Potter.

Growing up, I had believed that my ultimate goal in life was to become a Death Eater and to carry on the Malfoy legacy of being a pure blood and supporting the Dark Lord. I realized now, probably at a point that was too late, that my goal was the stupidest goal someone could ever have. I never realized the complete ramifications of it until _he_ started living in my house. The horrors that I had seen with him there were unspeakable. I was 17 years old, an adult by Wizarding standards, and I had seen things, felt things, heard things, that no one should ever experience.

I lived in fear every moment of my life. I had no idea where Potter was or what he was doing, but I could tell that the Dark Lord was getting nervous. He was becoming more and more delusional. Potter was doing something. I wish I knew what because whatever it was, the Dark Lord was suffering greatly.

One day, I did know where Potter was. He was in Malfoy Manor with some snatchers. I stared at him, knowing who he was as my aunt demanded that I identify him. As I looked into those familiar green eyes, eyes that were pleading with me to not identify him, I knew that if I said that it was him, that my entire life would be over, more so than it was. So, I said no. I didn't recognize him. They took him to the dungeons then, sparing his life. Granger hadn't been so lucky, but fortunately, she had been rescued by Potter as he escaped our dungeons. He stole my wand, but at that moment, I didn't care because he had gotten away. The Dark Lord would be furious, but at least it gave me another chance.

I didn't see Potter again until the Room of Requirement. I tried to stop Crabbe and Goyle from killing him. I wanted to say that it was because we needed to bring him to the Dark Lord alive, but that wasn't true. I wanted him spared because that gave me another chance of living the life that I should have chosen. Unfortunately, Crabbe didn't listen and cast _Fiendfyre_ in the Room of Requirement, he paid with his life for that, and the rest of us nearly perished with him.

Oddly enough, and I'll credit it to his hero complex, but Potter saved me. He had found a broom and instead of flying off, he came back and rescued me and Goyle. As I rode behind him on the broom, screaming in his ear to get us out and squeezing him tightly, I realized that he didn't have to save me. He could have let me die in there, but he didn't. When we crashed into the wall as we flew out, he was sprawled next to me for just a moment and I felt our fingers touch and link together for just a second. I looked over at him and he was looking at me with his wide green eyes. The moment, however brief, rocked me to my core. Something transpired there. I wasn't sure what it was, but it was gone quickly and he was up and back to his friends.

I saw Death Eaters coming at us and saw them go down quickly enough and then the castle blew apart near them. I saw them all go down and I stood looking at the rubble and for a moment I was afraid that Potter had been buried in stone, but I saw him get up, bleeding profusely and alive. Goyle grabbed my arm and we fled in the opposite direction. I didn't see Potter again until Hagrid brought him back to the castle in his arms, dead.

At that point, I felt like my world came apart again. The Dark Lord had won. Potter was dead and the Dark Lord would rule the Wizarding world. I felt my heart break and the brief moment we had shared after he rescued me came to mind. That simple touch had sparked something in me that I had thought I had lost. Hope. Not hope for the death of the Dark Lord, but hope that after all this I could have something that I had desired for so many years; a friendship with Harry Potter.

That hope flickered out when I saw him. I didn't have much time to process as things suddenly got very frantic as hundreds of magical creatures came storming out of the forest. Then I heard something through the madness, a bellow that kindled that hope again. Potter had disappeared. I wondered, if just for a brief moment, that he was alive. I had rushed back into the castle, wondering where he had gone. Things had moved from outside and into the Great Hall as the Dark Lord moved the battle in. His snake was dead and he seemed to be in more agony than ever. I didn't know what that meant, but soon I would see.

Potter appeared some time later and I felt relief and hope once again. It wasn't long before he and the Dark Lord faced off. They were talking about the wands and I heard my name. Potter had said my name and I realized that I was interlinked to this whole thing by the wand that belonged to Dumbledore. Then I realized that my wand was to defeat the Dark Lord. With my help, Potter defeated the Dark Lord.

The world rejoiced and I sat, huddled with my parents, relief pouring through me. I didn't see Potter again that day, but I hoped that I would see him again. I wanted to try and be his friend. I wanted to thank him for saving my life. He could have let me die in the Room of Requirement, but he didn't. He saved me despite every horrible thing that I had done to him and his friends. He saved me. For that, I was forever in his debt.

Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to thank him. A few days later, something happened to him. No one knew if it related to what happened with the Dark Lord or if somewhere in the fighting he was cursed and it didn't go into effect until days later. All they knew was that Potter was in a coma and showed no signs that he was going to wake up. One moment, Potter was both celebrating and mourning and the next he had some sort of seizure and slipped into a coma. No one knew what to do.

He had brain activity and there was no obvious sign of what caused him to fall into a coma, but he wasn't responding to any of the treatment. Weeks passed and nothing changed for him. After much thought, I decided to go to St. Mungo's to see him. I wanted to thank him. It had been preoccupying my mind for days. I had to thank him not only for saving me from the Room of Requirement, but for his testimony in my favor. He had given it the day before he was hospitalized. His testimony spared my mother and me from Azkaban.

When I arrived at St. Mungo's, I was directed to the Janis Thickey Ward which made my stomach churn. The very thought that the savior of the Wizarding world, Harry Potter, was on the floor with people who were never leaving, made me so sad and angry at the same time. He didn't deserve this.

I stopped just short of his door and noted that there was an auror outside his door. For a moment, I felt fearful that I was doing something wrong, but I realized that I wasn't. I was here to say thank you and that was all. I wasn't going to harm him. I never wanted to harm him again. For the most part, I regretted every horrible thing that I did to him. Some of the stuff I still stood by he deserved, but most of it he didn't.

I approached the door cautiously. The auror looked up at me and stood up, glaring over at me. "Can I help you?" he asked in a gruff tone.

I didn't appreciate his tone, but knew that if I wanted in, I had to play nice. "Yes, I wondered if I could see Mister Potter, please," I replied

The auror studied me and then looked at his list. "I don't see any Malfoys on the list," he replied.

I didn't supply my name, but it's not that hard to know who I was. I sighed and took a deep breath. "I know, but it's important that I see him. If you'd like to keep the door open while I go in there, you can. I am not here to harm him," I assured him.

"You can't go in there right now either way. Ms. Granger is already in there. When she comes out, we'll see if she'll allow you in there. She is in charge of Mister Potter's list of allowed visitors. You may sit over there," he responded.

I stared at him for a moment, wondering how I could get around this. If Granger knew it was me wanting in there, she'd definitely say no. I sighed and turned to go sit across from Potter's door. I was positive that Granger would curse me and say no way in hell would she let me in there.

I sat there for what seemed like hours in anticipation. It was actually only about a half hour, but it seemed so much longer. Granger came out of Potter's room looking quite worn down and worried. I stood up to greet her. She turned to speak to the auror at the door. He muttered something to her and I saw her eyes widened and then she turned to look at me. I smiled at her and I hoped it looked like a smile and not a smirk. I rarely smiled so who knows.

She gave me a calculating look as she approached me. "Malfoy," she said.

"Granger," I replied kindly enough.

"Why do you want to see him?" she asked quietly.

Cut right to the point. I appreciated that. "I wanted to thank him," I replied.

She lifted an eyebrow in question. "Thank him?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Actually, you and Weasley as well, I suppose. You guys didn't have to come back for me and Goyle. You should have let us die in there, to be honest."

Granger's eyes widened and she opened and closed her mouth a few times before she finally said something. "Are you actually thanking me?"

I frowned slightly. "Yes. Thank you for helping save us," I responded sincerely.

"Huh, I'm surprised. You're welcome though. Despite everything that you did to us, we couldn't let you die," she replied.

I smiled again. She blinked a few times at that. "So can I go in and see him? I know he's in a coma, but I want to tell him anyway," I asked her.

She frowned for a moment as she thought over my request. I felt a bit better about the possibility of her letting me in based on how she'd been acting just now. She glanced over at Potter's open door and then back at me. "Alright. I'll put you on the list, in case you want to come back or something. Just to forewarn you, it's hard to see him like that, even though you two weren't friends or anything…." She trailed off as she turned around and walked over to the auror. I followed her, frowning. I imagined it would be a little rough to see him in a hospital bed, but I didn't think it would be that jarring.

"Thank you, Granger," I said. She nodded and watched as the auror wrote my name on the list.

"I'll see you around, Malfoy," she said kindly.

"Yeah, see you," I said absently as I glanced into Potter's room. Granger left and the auror looked me over once more, but moved to the side to let me in. I closed the door behind me, leaving it open a crack. As I walked in, I looked around before settling on Potter. The walls were covered in things that I imagined meant something to Potter. There were Quidditch posters, pictures of him with his friends, flowers, sweets, and even a small stuffed animal. I glanced at his closet and noted that some of his clothes were in there.

Finally, I took a deep breath and looked over at Potter. Granger was right. It was hard. Harder than I could have possibly imagined. I stepped closer and gasped. He was so pale and looked gaunt. He was hooked up to all sorts of machines and potion lines. It was awful. The worst part was I couldn't see his eyes. I knew they were a startling green and I had seen them many times when I'd been in his face when we were fighting and not seeing them now really bothered me. I'd take harsh words from him just to see his eyes.

I took another deep breath and stepped forward. I sat down in the seat next to his bed and looked up at him. This was so horrible. He didn't deserve this at all. I wish I knew what had caused this. I looked down at his hand and wondered if I should hold it. It wouldn't be completely weird, I mean, that's what you did when people were in the hospital, right? I reached out and lightly touched my fingers to his. It reminded me of the night he rescued me from the Room of Requirement. When we crashed, we had linked our fingers together for just a brief moment and looked at each other. That look in his eyes was still ingrained in my memory and the way it made me feel. I would give anything to see those green eyes again.

I was getting ahead of myself and being weird about it so I just moved my hand more and took Harry's hand into my own. His hand was warm. I sorted through my thoughts, trying to say what I needed to say to him. I looked up at him and felt my words catch in my throat. This is not how it should be. He didn't deserve this.

"Hey, Potter. I bet you're surprised to see me here. Well, I guess, to hear me…" I trailed off, feeling myself blush.

I cleared my throat. "So, I came to say thank you. I never got a chance to thank you for saving me from the Room of Requirement and for what you said at my trial. I didn't deserve your kindness," I told him honestly.

I stood up for a moment and looked more closely at him. I reached out tentatively and brushed his hair off his forehead so that I could see his scar. I traced it lightly, frowning. I had never really had an opportunity to look at him closely and despite how pale he was and gaunt, I could see that he was quite handsome. I sighed. Whatever our brief linking of fingers meant, it had done wonders to mess with my head.

I sat down again. I rested my head across our joined hands for a moment. This made me feel so sad and tired. He didn't deserve this at all. He deserved to be celebrating with his friends and relaxing for once, knowing that someone wasn't trying to kill him anymore. I closed my eyes as I talked with the powers that be about helping Potter get out of this. He deserved to be celebrating.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Another chapter! This chapter, until I clue you in that Draco is awake, takes place while Draco is sleeping and is on a different plane with Harry. Enjoy!**

I sat down again. I rested my head across our joined hands for a moment. This made me feel so sad and tired. He didn't deserve this at all. He deserved to be celebrating with his friends and relaxing for once, knowing that someone wasn't trying to kill him anymore. I closed my eyes as I talked with the powers that be about helping Potter get out of this. He deserved to be celebrating.

"Hullo, Malfoy," someone said.

I sat up and looked around. I was startled to see that I was no longer in Potter's room, but in what I assumed was the Gryffindor dorms. I stood up from where I was sitting and realized that I was sitting on a bed. I looked around more, trying to find out who was talking to me.

"You look surprised at where you are," someone said again.

"That's because I was just at St. Mungo's…." I trailed off, still looking around frantically. I must be dreaming, but as I reached out to touch the bed hangings and felt them in my hand, I knew that this was something other than a dream. Finally, my eyes fell on who had spoken to me. They were standing in the doorway of the dorm. His green eyes were bright and he appeared to be less pale and looked healthy. I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. How was he here?

"Why were you at St. Mungo's?" he asked.

"Because you're in a coma. You're not responding to treatment. I went to see you," I explained in disbelief.

He looked at me in confusion. He looked around again and looked back at me. "We aren't in St. Mungo's now and as far as I can tell, I'm perfectly healthy and definitely not in a coma," Potter replied.

I shook my head, trying to figure out what this was. "Potter, I just saw you! You were lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to all sorts of machinery and potions, and you looked like you had one foot in the door of death!" I exclaimed. Sure, we might not be at St. Mungo's right now, but I know what I saw.

He walked over and sat on the bed that was across from the bed I had been sitting on. He still looked confused. "Well, if that is the case, how are we talking right now?" he questioned.

I shrugged my shoulders and ran my hand through my hair. I paced back and forth in front of him as I tried to come up with an explanation. I had nothing. I sat down heavily on the bed opposite him and felt my shoulders sag. "I don't know, Potter. Why are we talking right now?" I questioned.

I looked up at him and this time he shrugged. "I don't know," he replied. We sat in silence for several moments. We stared at each other for a few of those moments. A part of me felt so relieved to see him, to see his green eyes again, but another part of me, a more rational part of me was very confused about how we were seeing each other.

"So, the wars over," Potter commented at last.

I chuckled slightly and shook my head. "Yes, yes, it is," I replied.

He was studying me now. I could feel him looking at me. I met his gaze again. He had a strange look on his face. I wasn't sure what he was trying to figure out in regards to me. "You said I was in a coma and that you were coming to see me. If that's true, why would you be coming to see me?" he asked me.

I was caught off guard by his question. It was one thing to tell a comatose Potter that I was grateful for what he did, and another to tell an awake Potter, even if it wasn't in the real sense.

"Well, I wanted to come and uh….." I trailed off for a moment. He continued to stare at me patiently. This was really hard. I felt like I was having a harder time telling him than I did Granger. You'd think it would be the opposite. I sighed and ran my hand through my hair again. "I wanted to say thank you," I finally said.

He lifted one eyebrow at this. "For?"

"You came back to get me when you could have let me die. You should have let me die. I didn't deserve your heroics," I replied.

He laughed sardonically. "Oh, Malfoy, you think that it would be easy for me to leave you behind? Come on, you know me better than that," he responded.

I stared at him, trying to figure out what he meant. "What do you mean, know you better? I don't know you at all."

He frowned at me. He sat up more on the bed and leaned against the headboard. "We've been in each other's faces for seven years, you learn a thing or two about someone that way," he pointed out.

I snorted. "And what could you have learned about me in all that time?" I demanded.

He chuckled and I felt myself bristle at this. He seemed to be making fun of me. He looked at me seriously though after a moment. "I know that when you were younger that you were a spoiled brat and that your idol was your father. You thought that the world was here to serve you and not the other way around. You thought that hate and anger were the only way to survive in life. I'd say that I noticed a change in you during sixth year. The spoiled Draco Malfoy was no longer there, but was replaced by the tortured young man who had been tasked with a horrible task that he didn't want to do. You may have not liked Dumbledore, but I believe you respected him. Plus, you didn't want to kill anyone at all. You changed. You became human and for the first time you started to question your father and what he stood for. You started to realize that maybe he was wrong," he replied.

My eyes widened as he talked. Everything he said was completely true. Had he really seen all of that? I mean, I know that the spoiled brat and idolizing my father was easy to see. Everyone knew that and saw that on a daily basis, but the rest? How did he know all of that?

"You watched me a lot closer than I thought you did…." I said, trailing off at the end.

He laughed again. "Of course, I did. You were Draco Malfoy, my sworn nemesis at school. I had to keep an eye on you to know when you were up to no good. Just because I strongly disliked you, didn't mean that I didn't see and learn things about who you are as a person," he replied.

"Well, I watched you too," I retorted, raising my chin in defiance. I noticed things about him, didn't I?

He laughed again. I realized that his laugh was not hateful, but amused. I wasn't sure if he had ever laughed at me or whatever in an amused way. "I know. What did you learn?"

I frowned. What had I learned? I studied my enemy very closely, but did I learn anything about him as a person. I tried to think about all the times I had watched him in the Great Hall. "Well, I learned what kinds of foods you liked and your favorite desserts," I pointed out.

He smirked at me. "Very crucial information to know about your enemy," he joked.

I glared at him. "Well, it's hard for me to think about it when I'm not in the setting…." I stopped as the Gryffindor dorm faded and we were sitting in the Great Hall. I sat at the Slytherin table and he sat at the Gryffindor table. Everyone from school was sitting at our tables, but I couldn't hear them. They were also a bit blurry. The only person I could see clearly was Potter. "How did this…?" I trailed off again as I stared in disbelief around me. I must be dreaming.

"What did you learn about me, Malfoy?" he asked again.

I closed my eyes for a moment as I started to think back over the years. I started to speak as things started flooding my memories. "I remember how happy you were when you first started at Hogwarts. You always had this amazed look in your eye as you took in all the magic. Actually, I noticed that nearly every year. Growing up with magic, it didn't surprise me much anymore, but I could see for you that every time you saw anything magical happen that you were in awe every single time. I remember that you were often sad and as a bully, I'd make fun of you for it, but as the person I am now, I can't make fun of you for it, even if I tried. You got a bum deal. You were always missing something in your life and it was always in your eyes. You didn't have your parents, your godfather was taken from you after a short time, Dumbledore was taken from you after a short time, and Lupin. There was always this sadness in your eyes that when I didn't want to make fun of you about it, I noticed it and made me feel a bit sad as well."

Both his eyebrows lifted at this information. "Interesting. I wasn't aware that you would pick up on those sort of feelings," he commented.

I narrowed my gaze at him again. Here I was, sharing what I had taken the time to learn about him over the years and he was making jokes. "I noticed that you cared deeply about your friends and that made me green with envy," I added, bitterness in my tone.

"You were jealous?" he asked in disbelief.

"Of course, I was! How could you have not seen that? Every time I was a git to you and your friends, it was because I was jealous of all of them because they got to be friends with you!" I exclaimed angrily.

He frowned. "I'm sorry, I never realized that was how you felt. If you wanted to be friends with me in the first place, you probably shouldn't have been such a prat at Madam Malkin's and on the train," he pointed out.

I blushed and looked away from him. "Yes, well, we've already established that I wasn't the smartest back then when it came to what was right and what was wrong," I replied quietly.

"We didn't establish that," he teased.

I rolled my eyes, but smirked slightly at him. "Well, I'll admit to it. Anyway, I was jealous of how protective you were of your friends and well everyone. I wished for so long that you would extend that to me," I said sadly.

Potter stared at me. He stood up from the Gryffindor table and walked over to my table. He sat down across from me, the person who had been sitting there no longer visible. "I did. In sixth year," he replied quietly.

I looked at him in confusion. "No, you didn't. I never once felt that protection from you in sixth year."

It was his turn to blush and look away from me. "Well, I didn't show it very well. When I followed you into the bathroom, after months of you preoccupying my thoughts because I knew you were up to something, I went in there to see what was going on with you. You in turn tried to curse me," he replied.

I frowned. That was true. "Yes, well, you cursed me back with something that was much worse," I pointed out. I rubbed at my chest absently. The scars were very faint now, but they were still there and I still on occasion felt the tingle of them.

He looked down at his hands and nodded. "Yes, I did and it was one of the worst mistakes I've ever made. I was so grateful for Snape being there. You would have surely died," he responded morosely.

"Yes, I would have, but I didn't. I guess that maybe a part of you did, but I never realized that. I don't think it ever seemed like you would remotely protect me until you rescued me from the _fiendfyre_. You came back for me and you didn't have to do that," I repeated my earlier statement.

"I couldn't leave you behind," he repeated.

We stared at each other for a few moments. "What about at the trials? You didn't have to make a statement on our behalf," I pointed out.

He blushed slightly at this. That surprised me. Why would he blush? "Well, I owed you both," he said quietly.

My eyes widened. How did he owe us? I'm pretty sure we owed him our lives. "Somehow I doubt that."

"Didn't your mother ever tell you?" he asked in confusion.

"Tell me what?" I questioned, equally confused. My mother had told me nothing.

"She never told you what happened in the forest with Voldemort?" he elaborated. I shook my head. I felt my stomach flutter nervously. My mother was perfectly fine so obviously nothing happened to her. It must have been something that related to Potter. "She told Voldemort I was dead. That's how I was able to get back up to the castle and defeat him," he explained.

"What?" I asked in a quiet voice. My mother lied to the Dark Lord?

Potter was about to respond when he looked around, slightly panicked and started to fade. I looked back equally panicked. I wanted to hear what he meant and I wanted to keep talking to him. We were actually being civil to one another and I found that I liked it.

All too soon I was back in his hospital room and he was still in a coma, unchanged. I stared at him for a moment before I stood and left his room. I walked quickly out of the hospital, unsure of what I had just experienced and how it felt so real.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Here's another chapter for you all! I hope you enjoy this one as much as the first two. Let me know!**

The next morning, I sat up in bed, rubbing my eyes roughly. I hadn't slept well and dreamt of the horrors I had experienced. I wished that I had dreamt of Potter though. We could have finished our conversation.

I sighed as I got out of bed and got ready for the day. I didn't have much planned, but then I realized that I wanted to see Potter again. I wanted to see if we could get back to where we had left off. I wanted to know what he meant and I so badly wanted to talk to him again. I don't know what was happening in my mind in regards to him, but it was different.

I made it back to St. Mungo's without so much as a couple of bites of pastry. I made it all the way up to his room and stopped as I watched healers coming out. They looked grim. I wondered if his condition had worsened overnight.

"I can't explain what's going on with him. I can't find any evidence of what is causing him to stay in a coma or what brought him there in the first place. I'm afraid that he is going to be like this for the rest of his life," the healer responded.

I felt a weight settle in my stomach. The rest of his life? They had no idea how to help him. There had to be something.

"Hold on, Healer Roberts, look at this," the other healer stated as he looked at something on what I assumed was Potter's chart.

Healer Roberts stopped to look. His eyes widened and he smiled slightly as he looked at the chart. "His brain waves spiked for about fifteen minutes yesterday afternoon," he commented.

Yesterday afternoon? I had been there yesterday afternoon. Could it be that what was happening when I had fallen asleep there wasn't just in my head?

"Excuse me, Auror Grady, did you happen to see who was visiting Mister Potter between 2:30 and 3:00 yesterday?" Healer Roberts asked.

I watched as Auror Grady looked at the paper in his hands. "Draco Malfoy," he commented gruffly.

The two healers looked at one another. "Interesting. Will you please inform us if he comes to visit again?" the other healer asked.

"He's here right now," I offered quietly as I stepped closer to them.

The three of them turned their attention to me. I suddenly felt very exposed and wondered if I should have just waited. Well, I had already been there so I couldn't have waited too long.

"Mister Malfoy, may we have a word?" Healer Roberts asked me. I nodded and walked over to them. I glanced at Auror Grady who was studying me critically. "I'm Healer Roberts and this is my partner, Healer O'Neill. You were visiting Mister Potter yesterday afternoon?"

"Yeah, I, uh, wanted to come see him," I replied dumbly. Obviously I wanted to see him, why else would I have come to the hospital other than to see him?

They chuckled slightly. "Can you tell us what happened?" Healer O'Neill asked.

I frowned slightly. I felt like the moment that Harry and I had was to be kept between us, but if it could possibly give them some help and possibly bring him out of his coma, I was willing to tell.

"Well, I walked in and was quite taken aback by his appearance and how he looked. Then I sat down next to him and said what I had wanted to say to him. At some point, I fell asleep and I ended up speaking to Potter in a dream, I guess. We talked as if we were sitting at Hogwarts as if he was right in front of me, not in a coma," I explained.

They wrote down what I said and nodded in encouragement. "Did anything else happen?" Healer Roberts asked.

"I must have started to wake because he faded away in the middle of the conversation and I was back in the hospital," I replied.

"Interesting," they both said. I frowned again. I glanced towards Potter's room, really wanting to see him again.

"Do you mind if I see him now?" I asked.

They both shook their heads and I walked past them and towards Potter's door. I nodded at Auror Grady and he gave me a tight nod before I walked into Potter's room. I went straight to his bed without hesitation and looked down at him. He looked the same as yesterday. I felt my heart constrict at this. I had really hoped that something helped from our conversation yesterday. I sighed and took a seat, taking his hand into my own again. I so badly wanted to talk to him again.

"Potter, if you can hear me, I want you to know something. I would never admit this to you if you were awake, but I really enjoyed talking to you yesterday. You teased me and joked with me like we were friends almost. I wish you'd wake up, so that maybe we could be friends now. Do you think that would be possible?" I asked him. I sighed. Nothing changed. There were no spikes in his brain waves and he didn't stir.

There was a knock at the door and I turned to see his healers standing there. "Mister Malfoy, we wondered if we could try something with you," Healer Roberts asked.

"Um, what's that?" I asked.

"We wondered if you would let us put you to sleep again, just like you slept yesterday to see if we could repeat what happened yesterday," Healer O'Neill asked.

I tried not to show too much emotion in response to this, but on the inside I was ecstatic. We would be able to talk again. "That would be alright. I'm not sure if it'll work again, but it's worth a shot," I replied finally.

They both smiled and looked pleased. I settled back next to Potter and took his hand in both of mine, just as I had done yesterday and I laid my head across our joined hands. I felt my cheeks flush as I realized how this might look. The healers didn't seem to notice.

"Alright, we are going to put you to sleep now. We'll wake you up after a half an hour," one of them said to me.

"Okay," I replied. I felt a little sad that I wouldn't get much time with him, but a half hour was more than nothing and more than I had yesterday apparently.

I closed my eyes and heard them cast the spell. Soon I was asleep. At first, nothing happened. It was dark and I saw nothing. I started to feel sad because I wasn't seeing Potter at all. However, it started to get lighter and I realized that I was at Hogwarts again. I was standing outside the castle. The Black Lake was in the distance. I looked around, seeing blurred images of Hogwarts students walking around. I didn't see Potter anywhere, but then I saw someone sitting down by the lake, at the base of a tree, and they were much clearer. I knew instantly that it was Potter.

I ran down to the lake, absolutely elated at seeing him again. Merlin, I needed to get a handle on these new emotions. I was not being a dignified Malfoy at all. I slowed down as I got nearer and I could see Potter more clearly. He looked thoughtful, but also sad.

"Potter?" I called out.

He looked up then and looked over at me. He smiled and stood up. "You're back!" he exclaimed. He must have realized that he had been a bit more exuberant than necessary and schooled his features. I smiled. It appeared that the both of us were feeling differently towards one another.

"You remember me being here?" I asked.

He nodded and turned back around to sit under the tree again. He gestured to a spot next to him and after a moment of surprise, I joined him. "You're the only one that I can talk to here," he commented quietly.

"But there are so many people here. Why can't you talk to them?" I asked.

He looked around sadly. "I've been here for a long time and I didn't talk to anyone until you came by yesterday. I've tried to talk to them, but it's like they aren't really there," he replied.

"Well, I'm here and we're talking. So what happened with my mother?" I asked him getting straight to the point.

He chuckled. "I forget that you get straight to the point," he commented.

I blushed. "It's been on my mind since yesterday. I wanted to talk about it before we got distracted by something else," I replied.

He lifted an eyebrow. "And what something else would get us distracted?" he asked in a tone that suggested something that I would never imagine in regards to him. I looked over at him with wide eyes and felt my face heating. He grinned and started to laugh. "I'm kidding, Malfoy."

I stared at him and then narrowed my gaze. I looked away, my face still feeling heated and I wondered why that was. I knew exactly what he was implying and I found that it was an interesting idea. I shook my head, dispelling the thought and turned back to look at him. He looked nervous. "Sorry, um, that was unexpected. Please tell me what happened," I said, getting back on track.

He blushed slightly at my comment. Maybe he wasn't kidding as much as he thought? _Dispel the thought, Draco_!

"So, I was a horcrux and in order for Voldemort to get one step closer to dying, I needed to willingly allow him to kill me. I had to accept death," he began. I stared at him. I wasn't quite sure what a horcurx was, but right now that wasn't what was on my mind. I realized that Potter had said that he had to die and had to accept death and I felt horrified at this.

"You did die," I said quietly as realization set in.

He nodded. "I did, but what died was the part of Voldemort's soul that was in me. I actually was given the option to come back and so I chose to. I suppose I could have not and things would have gone much differently."

I looked at him, even more horrified than before. What if he had chosen not to come back? I didn't even want to think that. "Despite the fact that you're in a coma right now, I'm glad you chose to come back," I told him.

He looked over at me then and our eyes met. A look passed between us that I couldn't quite explain and I don't think he could either. I felt my heart beat faster and my stomach warm at the look that was passing between us. It brought me back to our moment outside the Room of Requirement. It felt like that, only so much more.

Potter broke the connection, his cheeks coloring. I looked away as well, feeling my face heat up again. He cleared his throat. "Um, so when I came back, Voldemort sent your mother to see if I was dead. She could tell that I wasn't, but she asked me if you were alright and I told her that you were and so she told Voldemort that I was dead. I thought that she did it to help me, but I realized that she did it to get back up to the castle to get to you. I suppose she helped me unintentionally because it allowed Voldemort to drop his guard and to give Neville time to kill Nagini, the last horcrux. Ultimately, she just wanted to find you," he explained.

I felt my heart swell at that. My mother did help Potter, but she was also very worried about me. Not that it was a surprise. I never questioned my mother's love for me. "I see. Now I understand why you did what you did. Thank you, again. I don't think I could ever repay you for that," I told him honestly.

He shrugged. "You're repaying me now by talking to me here. It's terribly lonely. I think you're right, I am in a coma," he said quietly.

I looked over at him. He had brought his knees up to his chest and had his arms set atop his knees and he rested his chin on his arms. He stared out at the lake and I could see how lonely he was. I reached out and tentatively touched his arm. He glanced over at me and then looked back at the lake. I was about to remove my hand when he slid his hand over and placed it over mine, curling his fingers slightly around me.

"You are, but you can always come out of it," I said to him.

"I've been trying to leave here for days. I can't leave. Something is keeping me here and I don't know what it is," he replied forlornly.

"It's probably what put you in the coma in the first place. I can help you look. Maybe we could find out what it is. Retrace your steps or something," I offered. I wasn't sure how that would work considering we didn't actually exist here, but maybe we could find something.

"Malfoy, can we just sit here for a while? I don't even know where to begin or if we can go somewhere else like this," he said quietly.

"Of course, whatever you need," I said sincerely. He looked over at me again and squeezed my hand slightly. He didn't let go, but returned his gaze to the lake. I sighed and looked out at the lake as well. I was thinking about how long I'd been there and wondered when they'd be waking me up. "Potter, the healers put me to sleep to come here again. Apparently, whatever happened yesterday spiked your brain waves. I'm sure that they'll be waking me soon. I just don't want you to panic when I disappear again," I told him.

He sighed and I could see his eyes well up for a moment. "I was rather surprised to see you leave so quickly yesterday. I wouldn't say I panicked though," he replied quietly. I could tell that he was lying, but I didn't press him on it.

I laughed quietly. "Well, I panicked. I had wanted to talk to you so badly and it seemed like it ended so quickly. I was panicked that I wouldn't be able to talk to you again."

He looked over at me then and gave me a confused look. "Besides saying thank you, why would you want to talk to me so badly?"

I blushed and looked down between us. My eyes settled on our touching hands. I knew why I wanted to. It was because of what had happened after the Room of Requirement. "I felt something, at the Room of Requirement," I told him.

His eyes widened slightly. "What? What did you feel?" he asked.

I was about to respond when I saw him start to fade. Crap. "I'll be back as soon as I can!" I said quickly. The last thing I saw was Potter's fearful eyes and then I was back in the hospital room, sitting up and feeling a pain that I couldn't quite explain.

I looked around and saw Potter still lying there and still not awake. My heart ached and I realized that I missed being with him. Something about our conversations and his touch was filling me with something that I didn't realize I had been missing. I felt heartbroken that we weren't together any longer. I looked at the healers who were looking at me with wide eyes and staring at some parchment that had spit out from the brain wave machine.

"What's wrong?" I asked, fearful of what they were seeing on the parchment.

They shook their heads. "This is amazing. His brain was all over the place while you were asleep, but as soon as we woke you, his waves returned to what they have been doing since before you came. I wonder if this would happen with others," Healer Roberts contemplated.

I narrowed my gaze at him. This was mine and Potter's thing. I didn't want anyone else to impose on it. I sighed inwardly though and knew that if I wanted Potter to wake up and give us a chance at a real friendship, I would do anything to make that happen. "You might try his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. They are the ones who are closest to him," I offered.

They nodded. "Will you come back? We are going to look in some tomes to see if this has ever happened before and I want to see if maybe the longer we keep you in there with him, the more likely he'll wake up," Healer O'Neill asked.

I looked down at Potter, rubbing my thumb across the back of his hand. He had been so lonely in there and I hated that I had to leave him. He looked so afraid. I wanted to be asleep again just to be with him for longer, but it wasn't going to happen now. Maybe tomorrow. "I'll come back tomorrow," I said quietly.

The healers nodded and left Potter's room, talking animatedly about what they had observed. I stood up and let go of his hand. I reached out and brushed his hair off his forehead and traced his lightning bolt scar. He seemed to sigh in sleep and I wondered if he felt me. I looked down at his face and traced the outline with my eyes. Something more had developed in my mind related to him and I couldn't begin to understand what it was. All I knew was that I wanted him to wake up more than ever now. If only to get him out of his loneliness. I sighed and left his room. When I walked out, his healers were not around. I glanced back at Potter's room and saw part of him through the doorway. I felt a tug at my heart and knew that until he woke up, I'd be coming back every day to be with him.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey everyone! Here's another chapter. This gives some clues as to what MIGHT have sent Harry into his coma. I end a bit on a cliff hanger. You're welcome :). Enjoy!**

I arrived back at the Manor a short time later. I went to seek out my mother. I hadn't seen my father much as he had been on a self-imposed imprisonment. I wasn't sure what that meant exactly other than he was somewhere in the Manor and not anywhere that would involve my mother or I to see him. He and my mother were both on house arrest. I had somehow been spared from that which I was grateful for.

I found her in the sitting room, knitting something. I walked in and sat down heavily in a seat across from her. She looked up at me and gave me a questioning look. "You look troubled, dragon," she said quietly.

I frowned. "I've just been to see Potter," I commented quietly.

She lifted an eyebrow at this. "I had heard that he was in a coma. How is he fairing?"

I frowned further. "Not well. Can you think of anything that might have caused him to go into a coma? Did you notice anything in the forest when he had his first confrontation with the Dark Lord?" I hadn't come out to say that I knew what she had done for Potter, but since she hadn't told me that she was in the forest before she came up to the castle, she would wonder how I knew this.

"I, uh, don't recall seeing anything out of the ordinary other than what happened between him and the Dark Lord," she whispered.

I nodded. "You told the Dark Lord that he was dead," I stated.

Her eyes widened. "How did you know that?"

"Potter told me," I told her simply.

She scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "He's in a coma. When would he have told you?"

I shook my head. I wanted to see if she had ever heard of what I was experiencing with Potter. She would be the only person I'd tell. "The strangest thing happened, mother. I went to see him yesterday and while I was sitting with him, holding his hand, I fell asleep and I was at Hogwarts again, talking to Potter," I explained.

"How do you mean? Like a dream?" she asked.

"No, like we were sitting together in real life talking. Then today, when I went back, the healers put me to sleep to see if it would happen again because yesterday, it affected him in a positive way. They wondered if it could happen again," I continued.

"Did it?" she whispered, obviously surprised by this.

"Yes! That's how I knew what you did for him, well, inadvertently since you just wanted to get back up to the castle to find me, but still. I talked to him," I replied.

She furrowed her brow as she thought. "I've never heard of such a thing happening," she commented absently. She set her knitting down and stood, walking over to a book shelf. She started to pull tomes down and floated them to the table that was between my seat and hers. They appeared to be ancient tomes and I could barely make out any of the writing on the covers. She turned back and pulled a book towards her, thumbing through it. I did the same, unsure of what to look for.

As I looked through the book I had, I realized that it was about ancient spells and rituals. I wondered if she thought of a spell or something that might have been cast on him that put him in the position he was in. There were so many spells and rituals in the Wizarding world; I didn't know where to begin. "Potter mentioned something about horcruxes. Do you know anything about them?"

My mother looked up at me, horrified. "That is probably the darkest magic there ever was," she looked away from me, getting a far off look in her eyes. "That would explain so much…." she trailed off as she looked back in her book and started to thumb through the pages with a purpose. She stopped on a page and scanned it. She paled as she came across a spell.

"What is it?" I asked her.

"The spell is _mors animae_. Well, something similar anyway. It splits your soul every time you do an unspeakable thing. The Dark Lord must have used that spell in order to bring himself back. Draco, it's very, very dark magic. Did Potter say what he meant by it?"

My eyes widened as I realized the scope of it. "He said that he was one and that Nagini was as well," I whispered.

"He was a horcrux?" she asked in disbelief.

I nodded. "What does that mean?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. I'm not sure how that would affect him. You need to try and speak with him again. The horcrux could have put him into this coma," she replied.

"Yes, but when the Dark Lord cast the killing curse on him, that part of Potter was destroyed. Plus, he went a few days without slipping into a coma. How could that have put him into a coma?" I wondered aloud.

"I am not sure, but you need to get more information from him," she encouraged.

I sighed. I didn't need a reason to see him again. I stood and started for the door. "Will you keep looking to see if you can figure out what might have caused this?" I asked her quietly.

I looked back at her to see her looking at me with a knowing look. "I will," she said quietly. My mother was one of the most intuitive people I knew. She would know that something had changed in my mind in regards to Potter, even if I didn't know what it was at this point.

I left the Manor and made my way back to the hospital. I came to see him again to talk to him about the horcruxes, but I knew that I didn't need a reason. I wanted to see him more than anything. I wanted to be with him once again. It was a constant need it seemed now.

I arrived at his floor and saw the healers coming out of his room again looking grim. It was like deja vu from this morning. This time I didn't wait to hear them. I just walked over to Potter's room. A different auror was there and I found that I kind of missed Auror Grady because this new auror was looking at me in a more critical way than Auror Grady had. "Excuse me, I'd like to see Mister Potter, please," I stated. The auror narrowed their gaze at me and didn't even look down at the parchment.

"You're not allowed in there," he replied through clenched teeth.

"Mister Malfoy, you're back!" Healer Roberts exclaimed as he came over to us. I looked over at him and he looked between me and the auror in confusion.

"The auror seems to think I'm not allowed," I commented quietly.

Healer Roberts frowned. "He's on his approved list. I'm glad you came back today though. Miss Granger and Mister Weasley are in Mister Potter's room right now. They are discussing whether they want to try what we did for you earlier."

I looked in there, feeling deflated. I so badly wanted it to just be me and Potter again. I took a deep breath, reminding myself that if it helped him come out of this, I'd be more than willing to sacrifice a few precious moments with him. I sensed movement to my right and turned to look and see Weasley standing in the doorway. He was staring at me with a narrowed gaze, but said nothing. He stared at me for a bit more before he turned his attention to Healer Roberts.

"We'd like to give it a go," he said calmly. I could sense that he wanted to say something to me. I wondered if Granger had told him what I said yesterday.

"Perfect. Mister Malfoy, will you join us in there? I'd like you to see what happens when you are asleep, if it works for them, I mean," he responded.

I glanced at Weasley and saw him bristle at this. If I wanted Potter to come out of this and have a friendship with me, that included me being nice to Weasley and Granger. "I will only come in if Weasley and Granger want me to," I said honestly.

I wanted to laugh when I saw Weasley's expression to my response. His eyes widened in disbelief and he opened and closed his mouth like a fish. I maintained my cool and didn't waver on my honesty.

"Mister Weasley?" Healer Roberts prompted.

"Um, I, uh, sure, I guess," he said uncertainly. He scrunched his eyebrows in confusion and turned and went back into Potter's room.

Healer Roberts beamed at this. I frowned slightly as I followed him and Healer O'Neill into the room. I glanced at the auror who glared at me as I walked in. I didn't like this guy one bit. I shook it off and immediately brought my eyes to Potter. I stepped towards him, wanting to take up his hand again, but noted that Granger was sitting in my spot, holding Potter's hand. I had to remind myself that this might help Potter so I calmed myself and stood at the foot of his bed.

"Alright, Ms. Granger, we'll start with you. I'll put you to sleep for about fifteen minutes to see if you are able to experience what Mister Malfoy experienced," Healer O'Neill explained. Granger looked a bit worried, but nodded her agreement. She placed her head over hers and Potter's hands and closed her eyes. Healer O'Neill cast the sleeping spell and she was out. I watched Potter's monitors and waited for any sign that she was with him. Nothing happened for the entire fifteen minutes that she was asleep. I saw Healer O'Neill and Healer Roberts frowning slightly at this.

When she awoke, she looked around the room and I could see tears in her eyes. "I didn't see him," she whispered, her voice cracking.

I wanted to be pleased at this, but it only made me feel sad for her. I imagined that being unable to talk to her best friend affected her much more than it affected me. She stood and moved away from him, grabbing a tissue to wipe at her eyes. Weasley looked at her sadly and reluctantly sat next to Potter and did the same thing that she had done. The healers put him to sleep and we waited for fifteen minutes more and still nothing. When he awoke, he looked just as heartbroken as Granger had. I sighed and looked away from them. I didn't understand what made me so special for it to work with me.

"Very interesting," the healers commented.

"Mister Malfoy, would you be willing to try again, to see if it will work again for you?" Healer O'Neill asked.

I glanced at Weasley and Granger. They had differing looks. Granger looked at me hopefully and Weasley just looked reserved. I found Granger much more encouraging so I nodded and stepped over to the bed as Weasley stood up and went to stand by Granger. I smiled slightly at each of them before I sat down and took Potter's hand into my own. This time it was easy and I didn't hesitate. The possibility of me being with him again was too much for me to hold back. I bent my head over our hands and prayed to Merlin that it would still work. I heard the spell and then I was asleep again.

I was greeted by darkness again. I was expecting it this time so I was less panicked. I waited, hoping that I would see Potter again. Eventually, things started to lighten and I saw that I was outside at Hogwarts again, but this time I was at the Quidditch pitch. I looked around, but didn't see Potter anywhere. I looked up in the sky and saw something golden flitting around. I searched around, trying to find Potter. He must be up there somewhere, playing a lone seeker game.

I looked around the pitch, but didn't see another broom. I walked over to the broom shed and wondered if I might find one in there. I knew the school brooms were dreadful, but if I could find one and use it to find Potter, I would. I opened the door and saw several in there. I gave each a cursory glance before I picked one and brought it out to the pitch. It seemed decent enough and it was a newer model. I mounted the broom and after a moment I shot up into the sky above the pitch. I flew around for a bit, getting used to this new broom before I started seeking out Potter. He had to be somewhere.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I like this chapter :) :) :) Enjoy!**

I flew around and caught sight of the snitch several times, but right now, my only goal was to find Potter. Eventually, I saw him flitting through the goal posts. I stopped and hovered for a moment as I watched him. I had always been so fascinated with how good he was on a broom despite never having been on one until he was 11 years old. I may have had fierce competition with him and been so jealous of his seeker abilities before, but now, I just wanted to watch him. He seemed to sense that I was there because he turned and looked towards me. I couldn't see him too clearly, but I saw him zoom towards me and come to a halt right in front of me. Relief was evident on his face and he was smiling at me. I couldn't help, but smile back. He looked so happy to see me.

"You're back," he said breathlessly.

"I am," I said just as breathlessly.

The snitch zoomed in between us and I barely saw that it was there and I don't think Potter did either as his eyes were locked on mine. Something passed between us again that I had seen glimmers of since I first spoke to him yesterday. Something was different between us and all that I knew was that it made me feel warm and it made me feel good.

"You weren't gone as long this time," he commented finally, breaking me out of the spell I was in while staring into his beautiful eyes.

"I came back because I needed to talk to you again and because…." I trailed off, getting ready to confess something to him that I wasn't sure was something I was ready to confess.

He looked at me earnestly. "Because?" he asked hopefully.

I sighed, unable to keep myself from giving in to his hopeful look. "I missed you," I replied quietly.

His eyes widened at first and then he grinned and it grew bigger as he let that idea settle over him. "I missed you, too," he said just as quietly.

I couldn't help, but grin at this. "Well, who knew that that could happen?" I joked.

He grinned further. "Hell must have frozen over," he joked back.

I rolled my eyes, but laughed. He seemed to notice the snitch then. He gave me a challenging look and I was about ready to give in when I realized that I didn't know how long I'd be here this time. The healers had never said. "At any other time, I'd accept your challenge, but I don't know how long I'll be here this time. We were doing another test to see if it would work or not. It didn't work with Granger and Weasley," I explained.

His face brightened at the mention of his friends, but then he frowned, biting his lip as he thought about something. "I felt someone trying to push through the barrier, well twice I suppose, but it didn't work. I worried that it was you and that you weren't able to come through, but here you are," he replied, smiling again.

I frowned in thought. "How was I able to get through and not them? I would think if anyone could get through, it would be them. They're your closest mates and I'm just your former enemy. How am I different?" I questioned more for myself than him.

"Before you left earlier, you said that you felt something at the Room of Requirement. What was it?" he asked.

I frowned again because there were so many more pressing things to talk about than what I felt at the Room of Requirement and I had no idea of the time that I would have with him. I sighed though and answered him. "I felt something change between us, like that we were no longer enemies, but something else. I'm not sure what, but something else," I tried to explain; realizing that I didn't know what had changed exactly except that something had.

"I felt it too. I feel it here, when you come back. There is something different here. I felt it more when you touched my arm. I don't know what it is either, but I do know that I like it," he replied, blushing slightly.

I smiled at him. At least I wasn't alone in what I was feeling. "Can we sit? I need to ask you something and I'd rather be sitting when I do," I asked.

He nodded, but looked at me in confusion. We flew down to the bleachers and sat. I turned to face him and our knees touched. He didn't move away from it and I didn't either. I placed my hands in my lap and looked up at him. "I was talking to my mother about what happens when I fall asleep in your presence. I told her about what you told me about horcruxes and she seemed to be alarmed by that revelation and yet curious at the same time. Were there just the two, you and Nagini?" I asked.

Potter shook his head. "He had made a total of seven. I was not meant to be one, but when he killed my parents and tried to kill me, his soul shattered and a piece of him ended up attaching to me. It was how I was able to speak parseltongue and have a connection with Voldemort's mind," he explained.

My eyes widened at this revelation. Seven? "How? What?" I couldn't even form coherent questions.

He chuckled. "The how is simple: you kill someone and say the spell that splits a part of your soul and then you place it into an object for safe keeping. It's better to place it into inanimate things because they are more stable, unlike living things such as myself and Nagini which are less stable."

"He split his soul seven times?" I asked in disbelief although I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised as the Dark Lord was hell-bent on being immortal.

"Yes. He used his diary, a locket, a ring, a diadem, a cup, me, and Nagini," he explained.

"Just random objects?" I questioned.

He shook his head. "No. They all meant something or were powerful. The diary belonged to him as a boy and was his first horcrux. The locket belonged to Salazar Slytherin. The ring his grandfather. The diadem belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw and the cup belonged to Helga Hufflepuff. They all meant something to him whether good or bad."

I stared at him in disbelief, trying to process this information. I had never known this about Voldemort. I had always wondered how he seemed to still exist despite the fact that he had been gone for so long after he killed the Potters and then the way he looked when he did come back. It all began to make some sense. "I always wondered how he came to be the way he was. Now it makes more sense to me. My mother and I think that what happened to you somehow relates to you being a horcrux. We aren't sure how, but we're going to try to figure it out. I want you to be out of this coma. I want us to be able to be friends for real, not just in here, on this plane of existence."

"I don't know if we can be friends outside of here," he responded.

I looked at him in surprise and I felt the color drain from my face. I had hoped beyond hope that if he woke up, that we could be friends. "Why not?" I asked my voice cracking.

He reached out and took my hand into his own. I felt the same feeling settle into me as I had every time he held my hand. I looked up at him and his green eyes were shining bright at me again. I hadn't realized how much I liked his eyes. They seemed to reach deep within me.

"I meant I'm not sure if we're meant to just be friends. Something happened when we linked our hands outside the Room of Requirement. I don't know what it was, but I think it's why only you can cross the barrier and not Hermione and Ron. There is something else here and I don't think it's just friendship," he explained.

I felt my face flush again and knew that my eyes were wide again. He thinks there is something else here. Is he implying that we are meant to be more than friends and that we have some sort of a bond that makes it easier for me to cross into this plane to be with him? How strange would that be? All these years that we have been fighting, to find that we have some strange bond between us that we never realized was there before. Is that even possible?

"How can you be sure of something as major as that? Are you saying we have some sort of bond?" I asked in disbelief.

He shrugged. "I don't know. There's one way to find out if there is something here that's more than just friendship," he said.

I felt my heart start to flutter again. He was leaning towards me in a way that suggested exactly what he wanted to do and exactly what he wanted to prove. He was going to kiss me. I felt my face heat with this revelation. I felt my heart start to pound and a ball of fire build in my belly at this possibility. I had never in a million years thought about him in that way. Then I realized that wasn't true. The feeling that had passed between us at the Room of Requirement had been something along the lines of more than friends. What would happen if we were to kiss right now? Would it tell us that there was something more there or would it tell us that we were just meant to be friends?

I thought that the only way we'd know is if I leaned towards him and allowed this to happen. There was no harm in trying it. There was no harm in testing out a theory. I was a theorist. I wondered about lots of things. This I had been wondering about in some part of my mind since that night weeks ago.

Potter glanced down at my lips and I glanced down at his. We leaned towards each other more and were merely centimeters apart. It would take just one more move by either of us and our lips would touch. We froze there, neither one of us daring to be the one who crossed that invisible line. Not because we didn't want to, at least for me anyway. I wanted to kiss him, to see what it was like and I imagined, since he suggested it, that he felt the same, but he wasn't closing the distance either.

I wondered if I was going to be woken up soon, if they were going to pull me away at the last second. I felt my heart begin to beat faster, but constrict at the same time. If they pulled me away before it happened, I'd be left wondering what it was like until I could be with him again. I felt an ache begin to build in my heart at the concept of not being with him for a while again. I couldn't fathom that right now so I made a decision and closed the distance between us.

Our lips touched and at first neither one of us moved. Neither one of us closed our eyes. As a matter of fact, we stared at each other awkwardly, eyes wide with surprise. We were frozen in place. Then, I was reminded that at any moment I could be pulled away again and if I didn't get a response from him or move further with my kiss, that I would be filled with regret.

I brought my free hand up and cupped his cheek. I closed my eyes and tried to caress a response out of him. I brushed my thumb across his cheek and he responded immediately, sighing audibly when he moved away for just a moment. He kissed me back finally, gripping my hand as if he needed to be anchored to me, anchored to the bleachers we were sitting in. The kiss was tender and tentative. It was an exploration of what might be. I felt him radiate through me and touch parts of me that I didn't know could be touched by someone else. He never let go of my hand, but a part of him was touching me and it made my heart beat faster and my belly warm further. The kiss confirmed something that a part of my mind had been wondering since that night. There was something that had passed between us and that something was passing between us again and it was stronger than before.

We broke the kiss at the same time, leaning back as we looked at each other in surprised contentment. The confirmation was in his eyes which solidified even more what I had felt before and continued to feel when I was in his presence. I wanted to say something and he wanted to say something, but his eyes widened and I knew mine widened as well because he was starting to fade and I must be starting to fade to him. He looked at me with sadness and then I was back in the hospital room, feeling empty, but pleasantly surprised. I reached up to touch my lips, still feeling his kiss. It had happened.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: This is a shorter chapter than usual, but has some good info about what might have sent Harry into his coma and why Draco can get through and Hermione and Ron can't. Enjoy :)**

I looked around the room and saw the healers looking pleased. I looked over at Granger and Weasley and saw several emotions flitting across their faces. They looked confused, angry, jealous, and surprised. I blushed, wondering if they somehow knew what had happened between Harry and me. My eyes widened and I smiled stupidly as I turned back to look at him. He was no longer Potter. He couldn't be. We had just shared something so beautiful and amazing. It was so special. He was Harry and never again could I imagine calling him Potter.

"Mister Malfoy, what happened this time?" Healer O'Neill asked quietly.

Judging by their pleased expressions before, they must have seen the same brain activity as the previous times I had been here. "He was flying at the Quidditch pitch this time and we sat in the bleachers and talked again," I replied, not wanting to reveal the intimacy that we had experienced.

"What about right before you woke up? His levels spiked and there was some movement here, by the both of you," Healer Roberts asked.

I blushed deeply. I was worried that they might have seen a certain body part react, but I focused for a moment on it and I didn't get the feeling that it had reacted. I wasn't sure what kind of motion they would have seen here from either of us. "What did you see exactly?"

"He smiled and you smiled and his hand moved, the one you're not holding," Granger commented.

I looked over at her and then back at the healers in surprise. They nodded in agreement. I glanced up at his brain activity monitor and noted that his brain waves seemed to be different, but not in a bad way. Could it be possible? Could I be helping him get out of his coma? "I, uh, we shared a moment, that I'd rather keep to myself," I said finally and quietly.

"A moment? What kind of moment would that be, Malfoy?" Weasley snorted.

I looked over at him with a heated glare. To my surprise, he didn't cower from it. I must be losing my touch. I scolded myself inwardly as I reminded myself again, that if I wanted to be friends or more now, I suppose, with Harry, that I needed to be nice to him. "Yes, a moment that I would like to keep to myself. Besides, does it really matter if it made him do something different than what he has been doing since he arrived here?" I questioned, trying to distract him from what exactly had transpired between Harry and me.

Weasley frowned at that. He couldn't argue with me on that. "No, I suppose not. Did you fight with him? Did you hurt him in any way?" he demanded.

I couldn't blame him. He had always been very protective of Harry. I had always been jealous of that fierce loyalty. My friends were never truly loyal to me. I frowned now. "No, Weasley, I didn't. I didn't come here yesterday with ill tidings for him," I replied.

He scrunched his eyebrows at that. "He's telling the truth," Granger supplied when Weasley didn't respond.

He looked over at her in surprise. She must not have told him what I had come by to say to Harry and what I ended up saying to her as well. "What do you mean?"

"He came here yesterday to thank Harry, to thank us, for saving him from the fiendfyre and to thank Harry for what he said on his behalf at his trial," Granger responded.

"You wanted to thank us?" Weasley asked in surprise. I swear he was so dense at times.

"Yes, Weasley, thank you for the part that you played in mine surviving the fiendfyre," I said sincerely.

He stared at me in disbelief again, his mouth opening and closing like a fish once again. I looked away from him for a moment and looked back at Harry. Somehow he seemed less pale now. I hoped that meant he was coming out of this soon. I missed him again. I wanted to kiss him again, to see if it was really something amazing or if it had been just a fluke. I stood and moved his hair once again with my free hand. I traced his lightning bolt scar and looked down at his pale face. I would have kissed his forehead had I been alone, but I chose not to and instead squeezed his hand and stepped away from him. I turned to face his friends again.

Granger looked at me and looked down at Harry. She bit her lip before she spoke. "How is he?" she asked quietly.

I smiled slightly. "He's lonely when I'm not there. He could feel you guys trying to get through, but for some reason that he doesn't know, you weren't able to get through. We don't know why I can though. He misses you both too," I offered.

Granger nodded and I saw the tears coming back into her eyes. A few escaped and she wiped absently at them as she stepped around me and took up my seat next to him. Weasley was still staring at me with a surprised expression, but I could see that what I said about Harry missing him affected him. He walked around me as well and stood behind Granger, resting his hand on her shoulder.

I felt like I was intruding on their moment so I left the room, his healers following behind me. "Mister Malfoy, please come back tomorrow. We want to put you under for longer. Whatever you did in there, I think it's affecting him out here. I think the key to waking him up, is you," Healer Roberts stated.

I nodded and turned to leave. Something was nagging me about what Harry had said about the horcruxes. I was positive that it related to his condition right now and I knew that the answer lied with him there. I had to figure it out.

 **XXXX**

When I got back to the Manor, my mother was waiting for me. She looked like she had been waiting for a while. I looked at her in concern. "What's the matter?" I asked nervously.

"Nothing. I just wanted to know what happened at the hospital," she said. I nodded and explained to her everything that had happened with Harry, aside from the kissing and any other moments we shared that related to our changing feelings for one another.

She looked deep in thought about the horcruxes. "That's very interesting. I wonder if because the horcrux attached to his own soul and that he survived the killing curse again, if his soul is repairing itself and the only way to do that was to not be awake for a long time. Plus, horcruxes weren't meant to be put into living things. That could be a complication that no one would know about. I read that only one other person has made a horcrux and they only made one and it was not a living thing. Horcruxes are too horrible to be used often. I'm afraid that's all I've learned about them other than what Potter told you," she explained.

I frowned. Her idea made sense, but I still didn't understand what part I played. "That makes the most sense, but what about me? Why can I get through and not his friends? Actually, why can I get through at all? That's my biggest question," I told her.

We were back into the sitting room and new sets of tomes were on the table. I sat down on the sofa and glanced at one. "What are these?" I asked as my mother sat in the same chair as earlier.

"These are anything that I could find that related to what you experienced with him. Mostly they're about bonds between wizards and witches because that is the only thing that seems logical in regards to you both," she explained.

I felt myself blush. I wondered again if she knew more about Harry and me. She sure was looking at me that way. I picked up one of the tomes and started to read about different types of bonds.

I was lost in my reading and found that for several hours, I didn't think about Harry, well in the sense that I wanted to be with him again. It made the day pass much quicker and soon it was nearly bed. I realized then that I hadn't eaten all day. I was surprised that my mother didn't interrupt me to make me eat, but when I looked up, she had been lost in her tomes as well.

I set the book down and went to the kitchens. I made myself some soup and ate it quickly before I started for bed. I had read a lot about bonds and one of particular interest was related to life saving and seemed the most likely for us, but it didn't seem to match the change in feelings. It was more of a respected bond, but it didn't necessarily change things between two people.

I sighed as I climbed into bed some time later. Now that I wasn't distracted by the tomes, my mind went back to Harry and the kiss that we had shared. I stared up at the ceiling, wondering what more could happen on that plane. I thought about how it felt and realized that I could kiss him for hours. I turned on my side and looked out the window. I wondered what Harry did when I wasn't there. Did he eat and sleep? Did he exist if I wasn't there? He must if he talked about being lonely. I closed my eyes, willing myself to sleep. The sooner I slept, the sooner I could be with Harry again.

Sleep, of course, eluded me and allowed me more time to think. I thought about when Harry would finally wake up. Would we pick up wherever we leave off in the coma plane or would we go back to where we were before? That thought scared me. I couldn't imagine going back to tolerating each other, not after we had kissed. I shook my head and rubbed my face roughly. One kiss and I was acting like it had been this life altering experience. Merlin, help me if he didn't feel the same way when he awoke. I'm not sure I'd be able to handle that.

I finally fell asleep, but it was not a calm sleep. I dreamt of Harry, but not in the way when I was at the hospital. I woke frequently, half expecting him to be there with me, but he never was. This was going to be a long night.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Here's another chapter and another visit into coma land :). So, I need your help. I have completed this story for the most part, but I wondered about changing the direction I took. So here's where I need your opinion. Should Harry remember what they had in there when he wakes up or shouldn't he? I've written it one way and can write it the other as well. I could have it be both ways and you could choose which ending you would prefer. Let me know your thoughts :)**

The next morning, I was out of bed and heading to the hospital by seven. Even if his healers weren't there at that hour, I wanted to be there. I arrived at the hospital and didn't waste any time getting up to his room. Auror Grady was back which I was surprisingly relieved about.

"You're very early today," he commented as I walked up.

I blushed. "Yes, well, I couldn't sleep any longer or attempt to sleep any longer anyway," I replied.

He chuckled quietly at this. "I haven't seen his healers this morning, but you can go in and wait. They usually arrive between now and nine," he said gruffly.

I nodded my thanks and walked in. Harry was wearing a different shirt and I noted that he looked like he had been given a bath or something. I blushed, getting an image of him getting a sponge bath in my head. I'm glad I missed that though, at least, I think I was glad.

I glanced up at his monitor and noted that his brain waves were still looking the same as they did before I left yesterday. I smiled at this. I sat down next to him and took his hand in my own. It seemed so easy now.

"I didn't sleep well again last night. It's hard going to sleep at home knowing that I won't get to see you unless I'm here. Well, I suppose that's not entirely true because I did dream of you last night, but not like here. My mother seems to think that you and I are bonded somehow and that's how I can get through the barrier. I had another thought, but I'm not ready to say it aloud. Anyway, you look better. It looks like they cleaned you up today and your brain seems to be doing more than it was before. I hope that's a good sign. I know there are many people wishing that you'd wake up again," I told him.

I sat there with him for an hour. I talked about random things that came to mind. I thought of it as good practice for when he was here in real life. Of course, the idea I had last night that he wouldn't want to be my friend in real life flitted through my mind the entire time I was there, but I kept trying to ignore it. I didn't want to worry about that right now.

I heard Auror Grady talking to someone and turned to see Harry's healers coming in. They brightened when they saw me. They checked over Harry's stats and looked pleased. "You seem quite eager to be here today," Healer Roberts commented once they were finished with checking him over.

I blushed and looked down at Harry. "Well, I didn't sleep well and I wanted to just be here, I guess," I said quietly.

I glanced up at the healers then and I saw a hint of pity and concern in their eyes before they went back to their professional faces. I couldn't get angry about that look because I realized that I was becoming quite attached to someone who for all sense and purpose was not aware of what was happening between us.

"Well, we'd like to try putting you to sleep for longer today. Maybe two hours. What do you think?" Healer O'Neill asked, worry in his tone.

"That would be fine," I said quietly again. I felt my excitement rising. That would give me so much more time with him.

"Alright, well, get situated and then we'll begin," Healer Roberts said.

I did as I always did and settled in next to him. I smiled as the healer cast the spell. I was back at Hogwarts, but I realized that I was standing near the gate. That seemed strange to me. I looked around for Harry, but didn't see him anywhere. I wondered why I would start out here. I glanced through the gate and at the road that led to Hogsmeade. I didn't see Harry there either.

I heard someone gasp behind me and I turned to see Harry walking down from the castle towards me. He was smiling broadly and I couldn't help, but return the smile. He was melting my heart with the look he was giving me.

"You're here," he said happily.

"It's the next day, quite early actually," I said as I blushed.

"Just couldn't wait to see me, could you?" he teased.

 _You have no idea, Harry_. "Something like that," I replied quietly.

He smiled at me and stepped towards me like he wanted to kiss me again. I froze, waiting in anticipation for what he would do, but he simply reached behind me and tapped the gate with his wand. I sighed and smiled. I turned and saw the gate open and Harry set down the path towards Hogsmeade. I stood there watching him for a moment. He stopped and turned to look at me, giving me a questioning look. I just smiled at him and took off after him.

We walked in silence for a little while. Finally, he broke the silence. "What happened after you left?" he asked.

"Well, apparently our kiss got your brain going crazy and your waves have changed for the better it seems," I told him.

He laughed. "Probably because it was something that would have never happened except here," he said quietly.

I frowned. The thought that I had from before came back. I was worried again that what was happening here wouldn't transfer to real life. I felt him looking at me and I tried to push my worries aside, but he saw it. He's seen me worried before so it wasn't like he couldn't tell.

"You're worried about something," he pointed out.

I shrugged. There was no point in keeping it to myself because he is persistent and would get it out of me eventually. "I'm just thinking about what you said. I've been worrying that anything that happens here won't be real when you wake up."

He frowned. "Just because I said that it wouldn't have probably happened outside of here, doesn't mean I don't believe it's possible."

"I'm not sure I understand what that means," I said as we stopped to look at each other.

"Well, obviously something happened between us and I think that eventually what happened yesterday would have happened, but maybe I meant that it wouldn't have happened so fast. I don't know. I'm just glad you're here and glad that I get to spend time with you again," he said finally.

I searched his green eyes for any doubt, but saw none. Maybe it would be the way it is here when he wakes up. I sighed and nodded. I didn't want to waste the time I was here with him worrying about something that may or may not happen. "Me too," I replied. He grinned at me and I returned the smile and we started walking again. Another question I had been wondering came to mind. "What do you do when I'm not here?"

He frowned. "Wonder when you're coming back," he said quietly.

I stopped again and looked at him. He stopped as well and turned back to look at me. "Do you really?"

He nodded and stepped towards me and reached out to take one of my hands. I glanced down at our joined hands and smiled. "What else do you do?" I asked quietly.

He glanced down at my lips and smiled slightly. "Since after you left for the last time yesterday, kissing you again," he whispered.

Merlin, help me. "Me too," I whispered back. I reached out with my free arm and wrapped it around his waist, pulling him towards me. He let go of my hand and wrapped both arms around my waist as I did the same with my other arm. I stared down at him nervously. This seemed much more intimate than yesterday.

His green eyes met mine and we stared at each other for several moments. Harry wasn't much shorter than me, but it was just enough that he had to look up at me. His eyes were full of trust for me and I felt my heart swell at this. My wish now was not only that Harry would wake up, but that what we had here would exist in real life.

I leaned down, hovering over his lips, and instead of me closing the distance this time, he did. It was just as amazing as yesterday, if not more. I felt the warmth building in my stomach again and my heart begin to beat faster. I felt as if anything that might have been happening around us didn't matter. All that existed were Harry and me. He increased the intensity just enough that I felt my head begin swimming. I wasn't sure if it was from the overload of emotions or if it was the need for air, but I didn't care. It was obvious. We had a connection and I didn't know how long it had been there, but we had it and I so badly wanted it to be real.

Harry broke the kiss first and sighed. He rested his head against my shoulder, facing my neck. I wrapped him up tighter and realized that we were hugging. I don't think I had ever hugged another person that wasn't my mother. I found that I liked it very much. He sighed again in contentment. This was so strange, but so amazing at the same time.

"How long are you here for?" he asked me quietly.

"Two hours," I whispered back. I turned my head and kissed his forehead. He sighed again and tightened his hold on me.

"It doesn't seem long enough," he said sadly. _You have no idea,_ I thought. We held each other for just a bit longer and then we separated reluctantly. He didn't completely let go of me because he linked his hand with mine and we started walking down the path again to Hogsmeade.

We window shopped and just enjoyed spending the time we had together. We didn't speak about anything, but maybe comment on what we saw in the windows. "Harry, do you sleep or eat or anything while I'm not here?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "No. I'll sit in the Great Hall, but no food appears and I'll sit in the dorm or lie down, but I don't sleep. It's strange, but time passes. Well, it passed easily enough before you arrived. Now it seems that time drags on between when you leave and when you come back. I can fly though as you saw yesterday so at least there's that."

I smiled at this. "That's true. You could fly for hours if you didn't need to eat or sleep. Do you feel tired or hungry?"

He shook his head. "No, not really. I suppose that would be the potions preventing me from starving. I do know that I plan to eat A LOT of food when I get out of here though," he replied.

We both laughed at this. We walked for a bit longer and then started heading back towards the castle. Halfway there I stopped and looked at him. "Do you think you'll remember all of this when you wake up?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I hope so."

I nodded. I felt like our time was coming to a close. I reached out to pull him towards me and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders pulling him close. "I think they're going to wake me soon," I whispered.

"I wish you didn't have to leave," he told me. He had wrapped his arms around my waist. He stepped back and looked up at me. The fear was back in his eyes and the worry about being alone again. I smiled at him in assurance and bent down to kiss him gently, with no hesitation this time. He returned the kiss easily and soon I couldn't feel him in my arms anymore and I opened my eyes to see him fading away, his name on my lips as I awoke in the hospital. My heart ached and my lips tingled. I felt the anger building from not being able to say good-bye.

I kept my eyes closed a moment longer, trying to pull his image back to the forefront of my mind, but I was only able to get a glimmer. I lifted my head, biting my lip as I looked down at him. A sad smile was on his face and my eyes widened in disbelief as I felt him gripping my hand. I looked over at the monitor and saw his brain waves still moving as if I were still in there. His healers were watching with rapt attention.

"I can feel his hand gripping mine," I whispered.

One of them came over and looked down to check and sure enough he was gripping my hand as if his life depended on it. This was definitely a new development, but it was soon over and he had stopped gripping my hand and the smile had disappeared. His brain waves settled, but were still different than even yesterday. I sighed and sat back in the chair, rubbing my face roughly with my free hand.

"Mister Malfoy, whatever was happening in there made him act as if he were awake, but just merely sleeping. There were movements out here as well. Smiles and hand movements just as you had seen. The smiles were happier than what he had at the end," Healer Roberts explained.

"I imagine that he was sad that I left," I responded, my sadness obvious as well.

They both looked at me in concern. "Mister Malfoy, we are concerned that this experiment is impacting you more than we should ethically allow. It's obvious that every moment that you spend in there with him, the more you are affected here. We can't possibly continue this if it harms you," Healer O'Neill said softly.

I looked up at them in alarm. Not continue this? I couldn't allow that. My emotions and feelings be damned, I was going to keep going in there if it helped bring him out of this. I owed him as much. "How I'm feeling out here does not matter. What matters is that Harry wakes up and can start living the life he deserves. I owe him that much."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Man, I need to ask for your opinions more often :) Thank you so much to everyone who shared their thoughts about the story direction. I've made my decision. Now, I'm going to forewarn you of two things here: One- I love this chapter and it's quite angsty and yet awesome. Two- You will want to beat me up over the next couple of chapters, but hang in there with me to Chapter 11 ;) Just trust me, okay? Anyway, here's the next chapter. It's one of my favorites, if not my favorite for this story. Enjoy!**

I looked up at them in alarm. Not continue this? I couldn't allow that. My emotions and feelings be damned, I was going to keep going in there if it helped bring him out of this. I owed him as much. "How I'm feeling out here does not matter. What matters is that Harry wakes up and can start living the life he deserves. I owe him that much."

"How are you feeling, Malfoy?" someone asked behind me.

I turned to see Granger standing in the doorway. I looked past her, but didn't see Weasley with her. I sighed. I wasn't ready to express to anyone how I was feeling about Harry.

"I'd rather not say. I'd rather keep it between Harry and me." I bit the inside of my cheek as I realized that I had just revealed something major to her.

"You called him Harry," she said quietly, thoughtfully.

I blushed slightly and turned away from her. I glanced over at the healers and they looked ashamed of what they had said since it was obviously not something I wanted revealed to anyone outside of this room.

"Ms. Granger, we have made quite a lot of progress today. We are hopeful that whatever Mister Malfoy is doing, it's helping heal him," Healer Roberts said trying to switch the focus to Harry and the positives that had come from today.

"What happened today?" she asked. I sensed she was looking at me, but I maintained my look on Harry.

"While Mister Malfoy was in there, Mister Potter was smiling and moving his hands. When Mister Malfoy came out of his sleep, Mister Potter was gripping his hand," Healer O'Neill explained.

I glanced over at her and saw her eyes widened and a smile form on her face. "That's good, right?" she asked quietly.

"Most definitely. We are going to go and record this information and consult some books that are lending themselves nicely to what is happening between these two. If you'll let us, Mister Malfoy, will you please let us put you to sleep again, for longer? He seems to react much more when you're in there for longer periods of time," Healer Roberts asked.

I nodded. Anything to get me back with him. They both nodded and left the room. I assumed they meant today so I didn't plan to leave. Granger went to Harry's other side and took up his other hand. She looked down at him fondly.

"He does look better," she commented.

I looked up at him and found that he did look better than the first day I had come here. I knew that had to be a good sign. "He does," I replied quietly.

We sat there in silence for several moments. I glanced over at Granger a few times and she seemed to be thinking. "Malfoy, what do you do when you're in there?" she asked finally.

I looked over at her and she was looking at me intently. I turned away, not wanting her to intrude on everything that we do in there. I sighed. "The first time we just talked in the Gryffindor dorms and the Great Hall. The second time was by the Black Lake. The third time, when you and Weasley were here, was on the Quidditch pitch. This last time we walked through Hogsmeade together. We just talk to each other about things like what I wanted to thank him for or the reason we fought so much when we were younger and then things that we noticed about one another. He observed so much more about me than I ever thought," I explained.

She looked at me quizzically and then looked back at Harry. "At times I wondered if Harry was too obsessed about you. He did notice a lot about you. We often didn't believe most of the things he said and thought that he was obsessing over you too much, but clearly we were wrong, many times."

I frowned deeply at this. I wondered if Harry and I did find that we wanted to be more than friends outside of his mind, if Granger and Weasley would support it. At this point, I doubted that.

"Know thine enemy," I said quietly.

I looked over at her and she was staring at me again. She tipped her head to the side and she smiled slightly. "I did see something after the Room of Requirement. I saw it very quickly and I never thought of it again until just now. You and Harry had a moment, didn't you?"

My eyes widened a fraction, but I immediately schooled my features, unwilling to reveal anything to her about what Harry and I had shared after that night. I chose not to answer her and she didn't push. I figured that I was giving her the answer that she needed without saying a word.

"It makes sense, you know. You and Harry. You've spent seven years fighting each other to the point of obsession. You and he both somehow always found each other. Either you would say something or he would, but no matter what, you always found each other. I think that's why you can get through. You and Harry have a bond, albeit a strange bond, but one all the same. It was founded on misunderstood resentment and dislike, but after the incident in the Room of Requirement, that bond altered. I know what I saw, Malfoy," she said quietly, not looking at me.

I stared at her in disbelief. What she was saying made perfect sense to me. How had I not seen this all these years? A small voice in the back of my mind whispered that it was because I couldn't see it through my jealousy of him. It wasn't until he saved me that it cleared away. Every moment that we had spent fighting, we could have spent being friends or something else, but then, would we have had that bond if we hadn't had the fighting? It was a strange concept and one that made so much sense to me. Did it explain how I could get through to him when his closest mates couldn't? He had bonded with Weasley and Granger so what made my bond so much more different than theirs? There were still too many questions that needed to be answered.

"Even if we had a bond at most it would be a life debt bond. He saved me from the Room of Requirement and I owe him my life. That's all there is to it," I replied realizing that that was the only possible bond that we could have. I felt sad suddenly, realizing that I was already repaying that debt by helping him get out of his coma. The realization hit me like a ton of bricks and I felt my heart break all over again. This didn't feel like just a life debt bond, but that's all there could be, right?

Granger looked at me for a moment and then turned back to Harry, looking thoughtful again. She didn't respond to my point and I took that as she agreed with me. Merlin, the healers were right.

As if they heard my thoughts, they were back in the room, this time they had a bed with them. I glanced at it and then looked at them with a questioning look. "We thought this might be more comfortable," Healer O'Neill stated.

"How long are you putting me to sleep for?" I asked curiously.

"We thought five hours," Healer Roberts replied as he got the bed ready. My eyes widened at the concept of being with Harry for another longer period of time.

"Alright," I said quietly. Healer Roberts gestured to the bed and I climbed up onto it. It was placed right next to Harry and I reached out to take his hand again. Granger watched with great intent.

"I'd like to stay and observe," she requested.

"That's alright with us as long as it's alright with you," one of them responded, acknowledging me. I nodded in agreement. They both nodded in affirmation and I closed my eyes. I heard the spell being cast and then I was asleep. It was dark again and I waited. I stared at the blackness in front of me.

I heard soft snores around me and it started to get a bit lighter, but not much. I felt like I was lying in a bed. I turned on my side and saw someone in a bed nearby. "Harry?" I whispered.

I heard what sounded like a book close and someone moving from the area that I was facing. Sure enough, Harry was there and standing next to me, looking absolutely thrilled to see me again.

"Merlin, you got back so fast!" he said. He pushed on my side and I slid over as he climbed onto the bed to lie down next to me. There were only mere centimeters between us and I felt myself heating at the closeness of us.

"A lot happened while I was visiting with you before. You actually smiled and gripped my hand at the hospital," I told him.

"I did?" he asked in surprise.

"Yeah. You're making progress. I think I've also figured out why I'm here," I told him, not hiding the sadness in my voice.

"Why?" he asked uncertainly, instantly picking up on my sadness.

"I owe you a life debt and I'm repaying it by helping you get out of your coma," I told him quietly.

"Well, isn't that a good thing? I mean, the life debt would be repaid and we wouldn't have that hanging over our heads once I get out of here," he replied.

I smiled and reached out to grip his hand in mine. Our interlaced fingers sat in between us and I leaned forward to kiss his hand. The sadness creeping in more. "Yes, but I think that everything that we've experienced in here, will only be remembered by me. Our only bond is this life debt bond. Once that's repaid, our bond, our connection, will be gone. Everything in here will have been literally just a dream. A very vivid and wonderful dream that I will remember always."

He frowned at me and scooted closer. It hurt at how much I was enjoying this closeness and how much I was going to miss this once he woke up. "Draco, let's not worry about that right now. We can't waste the time we have worrying about something that isn't a guarantee. Just talk to me about something else."

I felt my cheeks warm again at him using my first name. "You called me Draco," I whispered, a tear developing at the corner of my eye. Ugh, this was ridiculous. Those damn healers were right. This was unethical, but why did it have to feel so right?

"You've been calling me Harry. I can't imagine calling you Malfoy after the kisses we've shared and the conversations we've had. Besides, I like saying your name without the malice of the old days," he replied in a teasing tone.

I laughed and bumped him with my knee. "But _Potter_ had such a nice zing to it," I said in my old sneering tone.

He glared at me. " _Malfoy_ , had a nice ring to it too," he replied in that same tone as he had used so many times in the past.

We laughed for a few moments about that. It seemed like ages ago that we had talked that way to each other and meant it. "Those were the days, weren't they?" I teased.

Harry smiled at me and became serious. "I quite like these days though, aside from being in a coma and not with you in real life," he said quietly.

I smiled and nodded. "Me too," I whispered.

"Why don't you think I'll remember?" he asked me.

I sighed. "Because I was put to sleep willingly, you weren't. I just don't think that I'm getting into your brain in the same way as you get into mine. As soon as I wake up, I want to be asleep again to be with you. That's not normal and I'm afraid that when you do wake up, you'll forget that any of this happened and I'll be living in this world that we've been in together and you'll be living in the real world and not with me in any way," I replied honestly, the sadness and insecurity obvious in my tone.

He frowned at me, but nodded. He scooted closer to me, aligning our bodies so that there were only a few millimeters between us now. He moved forward and pressed a tentative kiss at the corner of my mouth. I felt my eyelids flutter as the sensation of that light kiss came over me and reached my inner core. He kissed the other side and left light kisses from my lips to my ear to my neck and along my jaw line. He was barely touching me and I was already melting. It amazed me that he had so much power over my emotions with even just the lightest of kisses.

"I can't imagine not wanting to be with you after all of this. How could I not want to kiss you in real life after I've kissed you here and felt how it makes me feel?" he whispered against my lips before he kissed me gently.

I felt tears coming to my eyes. I wanted this so much. I sighed as he brushed his tongue against my bottom lip. I opened them willingly and allowed him to deepen the kiss. I shifted slightly, pulling him with me to where he was lying half on me and half on the bed. We explored each other tenderly and almost lovingly. One of his hands was at my side, his fingers caressing my bare skin. My hand slipped under his shirt and my fingers danced carefully across his back, twirling circles in random patterns. It was the most intimate thing I had ever done and I was doing it with someone I had sworn was my enemy. Oh, how wrong I was.

He broke the kiss and looked down at me. "How do I make you feel?" he asked quietly.

"Like I have never been so wrong in my life," I replied breathlessly.

He grinned. "How so?"

"Like all these years that I've been fighting with you were wasted when I could have been doing this instead," I replied, pulling him down for another kiss. He gave me my moment of kissing before he broke away from me and grinned down at me again.

"But just think of all that pent up aggression towards one another; it could be of great benefit to us. Kissing is a great way to release that aggression positively amongst other things that we could do to one another," he teased, waggling his eyebrows at me.

I felt my face heat up and knew that if it were lighter in this room that my cheeks would be turning bright red, and there would be no way for me to hide that from him. "Merlin, Harry, you're quite randy for a bloke in a coma," I teased back, once I found my voice again.

He started to laugh and I found that I very much enjoyed his laughter. I don't think he knew how much he affected me. "Draco, in all seriousness, how do I make you feel?" he asked again, stopping his laughter and looking down at me seriously. He brought a hand up and brushed my hair off my forehead. I closed my eyes and turned my head to kiss the inside of his wrist as his hand brushed the strands away.

"You make me look forward to another day and another time that I can be with you. You make my heart beat faster when you kiss me and my face and belly feel warm in anticipation. You make me feel sadness and loneliness because when I'm not with you, that's all I can feel until I'm here with you again. You make me feel like my life matters and that you found me important enough to come back for when you should have just let me perish in that fire. Simply put, you make me feel everything," I whispered. I felt the sadness creeping in again, knowing that after he woke up, I would be alone again and he wouldn't remember any of this.

He smiled at me and kissed me soundly. He broke away again. "You took away the loneliness the second you arrived here. You made me realize that night after we crashed into that wall and linked our fingers together that there was so much more there than just you being my enemy. I feel sad when you leave and elated when you're back. I find you funny and handsome and intelligent. Every moment that I have spent with you here gets better and better. If I forget this, when I awaken, I will hate myself because this has been the most real thing I've experienced in a long time. I can't imagine waking up and not remembering this. Remembering how you feel against me in all the ways that we've touched thus far."

I smiled at him, aching to be with him in real life. I wanted this to be real so badly and his words were making it harder and harder for me to deny it. "If you forget this, don't hate yourself. I will understand and I will just hold these moments close to my heart where you planted yourself in this plane of existence. Let's just stop talking about that and just be here like this. If this is all I can have with you, I'll take it."

I brought my hands up to his face and brushed my thumbs along his cheeks and across his lips. I stared into his beautiful green eyes, committing them to memory, wanting to never forget them. I could see the desire he had for me there, the yearning and the wanting. I knew that my eyes reflected that and probably so much more. He searched my eyes too as if he was trying to force himself not to forget these moments. I brought my hand around to the nape of his neck and ran my fingers through the hairs there. His hair was so soft, not as I had imagined it for so many years. I brought him down to me and he kissed me. I managed to switch our positions so that he lied beneath me now. I kissed him tenderly and carefully, never wanting to forget this moment ever. It would be all that I had left after he woke up and forgot about us here.

We stayed that way for hours it seemed. We alternated in kissing, exploring, and just lying there, holding each other. I felt like this would be the last time I'd see him here. I wasn't sure if that was true, but it seemed that way. Maybe it was my own doing because I believed that he wouldn't remember any of this when he awoke. I sighed and I looked down at him. His eyes were closed and his face was contorted as if he were in pain.

"Harry, what's the matter?" I asked nervously.

"I feel like I'm being sewn up, like I'm getting stitches," he said in a tight voice as he massaged his chest. My eyes widened as I worried that he was having a heart attack or something. Merlin, was that possible?

"I don't know how I can help you. I hope that everything is alright with you in real life," I said nervously, the anxiety increasing and my pitch becoming higher in my nervousness.

He smiled tightly at me. "Kiss me again, Draco. Distract me from it," he whispered, turning so that he was facing me more fully.

I sighed, anything I could do to help him. I leaned down and kissed him gently. He brought his arms around my neck and pulled me more fully on him. He shifted us towards the middle of the bed and seemed to be demanding much more from my kiss than he had previously. I broke it for just a moment and looked into his green eyes. I could still see the pain, but the desire was there and I knew I couldn't deny him this. I gave myself over to him fully and allowed him to kiss me in a way that seemed like his life depended on it. I would miss this terribly. His possession of me was mind boggling and the way he felt, felt so right.

Things became intense then, as if that was even possible because it seemed that we were already tense enough as it was. I broke away for just a moment to catch my breath. Harry looked like he was in more pain. "Harry, you're not alright!" I cried, worrying over him.

He shook his head and looked up at me with an intensity that surprised me and scared me at the same time. "Please keep kissing me. You're making me whole again," he said through clenched teeth.

"What?" I questioned in confusion.

"Please, Draco," he begged. I stared at him for a moment more and saw him screw his eyes closed. I shook off my worry and started to kiss him again. Now I was really beginning to feel like his life was dependent on it.

We kissed for several more moments and although I was extremely worried about him, the intensity that he was exuding towards me was amazing and it distracted me from that worry. It seemed strange that other parts of our body were not reacting to this because honestly, if this were real life, I would have exploded about twenty times by now just from kissing him. It amazed me that he could affect me so much.

He seemed to settle after a while and seemed to be less in pain. His kisses became gentler and few and far between. He was breathing heavily and seemed like he could just fall asleep at any moment. I knew that wasn't possible because he didn't sleep here, he had told me as much. I lay down next to him and wrapped him up in my arms. He rolled over, setting his head on my shoulder and aligning the front of his body with my side. He trembled against me and I wondered if he was cold. I kissed his forehead and he sighed in contentment.

"Are you alright?" I asked him after some time. His breathing had evened out.

"Yes, thank you. I don't know what happened, but I feel whole again. I didn't tell you this before, but I had been feeling like something was missing the entire time I was here until you showed up. Since you've been visiting me, I haven't felt it or I've felt it disappearing. Tonight, I felt as if my soul was being sewn back together because of you. Thank you, Draco. I have never felt as complete as I do now, even in life," he explained to me.

I kissed his head again and tightened my arms around him. "That must mean you're close to waking," I whispered, sadness in my voice quite evident.

"You don't sound like you think that's a good thing," he said in a slightly accusatory tone.

"It's a wonderful thing, but it means that I don't get to have you like this any longer," I told him.

"You don't know that," he responded, moving out of my grasp and sitting up.

He brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, setting his chin against his knees. I sat up as well and faced him again, reminded of when we were down at the Black Lake the second time I came here.

"You're right, I don't know that. I could be completely wrong, but I'm so afraid that I'm not," I told him honestly.

He turned his head to the side so he could look at me. "I don't want this to be over if it means that we can't be together like this. I've had you, I don't want to lose you," he said quietly.

I smiled at him. "The beauty of it is this; you won't remember any of it so you won't miss it. I, on the other hand, will remember it and although it breaks my heart to think that you and I can't be together like this in real life, I will cherish every moment we've spent here for the rest of my life."

I felt tears coming to my eyes at this and saw the same in his eyes. He sniffled and rubbed at his eyes. He looked away from me glowering into the darkness.

"Let me kiss you once more, please," he asked after several moments.

"Of course," I whispered. He dropped his knees and turned towards me. He moved up to his knees and scooted towards me. He brought his hands up to my face and cradled it. I closed my eyes, my tears escaping and I turned into his touch, kissing the inside of his wrist again. He leaned forward and kissed me tentatively at first, but soon he was asking for entrance and deepening our kiss. It was amazing just as every single one had been and it was final. I knew, without a doubt, that he wouldn't remember this. I felt my heart shattering and I could feel the healers calling me back. I broke the kiss and looked into those green eyes again. "Good-bye, Harry," I whispered and his eyes widened and I brought my hand down and linked our fingers together, just as we had done after the Room of Requirement and then I was back.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: So I warned you... there's glimmers of hope though I think... maybe ;) Enjoy!**

 _Draco's POV_

I started to sob, sitting up in the bed. There was a flurry of activity around me and I felt the bed I was on being pushed to the side and monitors beeping. More people flooded in and I jumped down from the bed. Granger's eyes met mine and she had tears streaming down her cheeks and she looked at me in a way that told me that she knew everything that had happened in there and knew the anguish I was feeling over not being with him any longer nor being able to be with him again. I looked over at Harry and stared in horror as his body arched off the bed and the monitors flashed all sorts of colors and his brain activity was all over the place, spiking and dipping, high and low. I knew he was coming out of it, but I didn't realize it would be this frantic and this chaotic and this worrisome. I stared on, crying as I watched all of this happening.

Finally, he settled and things calmed. His brain waves steadied and he was breathing calmly. His hands were twitching and his legs were moving. I stood by the door watching as his eyes started to open slowly. I felt my heart start to pound and my stomach flutter with what I was seeing. After several weeks, he was finally waking up. His eyes opened fully, finally, and Granger beamed at him. I smiled too, allowing my tears to slow to just drops sliding down my cheeks. Harry looked around, scanning all the faces in the room. Finally, he settled on me.

I held my breath as I waited for him to give me the reaction I was expecting, but another part of me was hoping that he would remember what had happened in there. He stared at me in confusion and his brow furrowed as he tried to place what I was doing there. That sinking feeling came back and I knew that I had been right all along. He hadn't remembered anything that had happened in there. He had forgotten about everything that we had shared in there. Every joke, every secret, every kiss, and every feeling that we had shared. He had forgotten.

The tears started to come back and he continued to stare at me, his confusion becoming more and more evident. I smiled slightly at him and waved before I turned right around and left, never looking back.

 **XXXX**

 _Harry's POV_

I felt like I had been in total blackness for weeks. Then, out of nowhere, light arrives and lasts a while. I don't know what brought the light, but I finally felt like there was something out there, waiting for me to get out of this blackness. The light came in briefly and then it stayed longer and longer until finally it burst out of me and I was out of the blackness and looking around a hospital room.

I had no idea why I was in the hospital and why Hermione was looking so upset. Was I dying? It didn't feel like I was dying. Quite the opposite, actually. I felt whole and more alive than I had felt in ages. Where had that light come from? Was it from the hospital room? Who are all these people? I looked around, trying to pick out any faces I recognized aside from Hermione's.

Finally, my eyes settled on someone near the door. It took a moment for them to come into focus, but once they did, I felt confused. Why were they here and why were they crying? Why was Draco Malfoy standing in my hospital room….crying? He looks heartbroken, but I don't think that in a mean sense, he literally looks like someone ripped out his heart and crumbled it to pieces. What is happening? I watched him leave with even more confusion than before.

I turned back to look at Hermione and she seemed to be crying more as she saw Malfoy leave. What in the world was happening here? I looked at the others in the room and these two healers were trying to gain my attention.

"Mister Potter! Mister Potter! Can you focus on us, please?" one of them requested.

I nodded, still very much uncomfortable with what was happening. Why was Draco Malfoy in my room and crying? I glanced back towards the door. Maybe I had been seeing things, but one more look at Hermione had me believing that I really did see Malfoy crying in my hospital room.

The other healer at my side pushed the others out of the room so that it was just Hermione and the two healers left. I relaxed a bit at that.

"Now, Mister Potter, do you know where you are?" the other healer asked.

"Yes," I rasped out. I cleared my throat which made it hurt.

"Ms. Granger, will you please get him some water?" he asked.

Hermione nodded and grabbed a cup and filled it with water. She placed the straw at my lips and I drank from it carefully. My throat instantly felt better. She gave me a watery smile and then settled into the chair next to me.

"I apologize, Mister Potter, I am Healer Roberts and this is Healer O'Neill. We have been watching over you since you arrived," Healer Roberts introduced. I nodded at them both.

"Now, Mister Potter, you understand that you are at St. Mungo's, correct?" Healer O'Neill asked.

I nodded. "I gathered that," I whispered hoarsely.

They both chuckled and nodded. "Of course, sir. Do you recall why you were brought here?" Healer Roberts asked.

I shook my head. The last thing I truly remembered was standing in the forest, getting ready to face Voldemort. My eyes widened as I realized I couldn't remember what happened. "Voldemort," I whispered fearfully.

Hermione shook her head. "No, no, everything is fine. You defeated him Harry. Everything is fine," she assured me.

"He's gone?" I asked meekly.

"Yes, he's gone. Dead. Never coming back," she assured me again.

I nodded and sighed. Well, now that I was back on track…. Of course, I still didn't know why I was here. "The last thing I remember was facing him in the forest," I whispered.

Hermione's eyes widened and she looked up at the healers in confusion. They frowned slightly. Apparently, I missed something rather important. "Mister Potter, there were about five days between when you defeated Voldemort and when you ended up here. You don't remember any of them?" Healer O'Neill asked.

I tried to focus, but nothing came to mind. I shrugged. "I don't remember."

"Well, having a bit of amnesia after waking up is normal. It'll take a few days, but I'm sure it'll come back to you. You are here, Mister Potter, because you've been in a coma for six weeks," Healer Roberts said gently.

My eyes widened. Six weeks? That must have been the blackness, but what had been the light then? "Coma? Six weeks?" I repeated in disbelief.

"You've given us quite the fright, Harry," Hermione said quietly.

"I'm sorry?" I said as a question.

She smiled another watery smile and squeezed my hand. "Ron had to work this morning; otherwise he'd be here right now. As a matter of fact, I should probably owl him. I'll be back in a moment, Harry, alright?"

I nodded and watched her leave. I turned to look at the healers. Malfoy came to mind then. "Excuse me, but what was Malfoy doing here?" I asked.

The healers looked at each other and smiled, but I could see something else in their eyes that didn't make sense to me. Healer O'Neill cleared his throat and then spoke. "Mister Malfoy was instrumental in you coming out of your coma," he said quietly.

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked in a shocked tone.

Healer O'Neill glanced towards the door and frowned. "He was here before you woke. I wonder why he left…." he trailed off as if he had just remembered something. He frowned and glanced at Healer Roberts nervously.

"I know you're not telling me something," I said quietly.

They both sighed and looked at each other again. This not telling and exchanging looks was really starting to get on my last nerve. "Mister Malfoy came by a few days ago to see you. An interesting thing happened when he came. He fell asleep while he was visiting with you and for the fifteen minutes he was asleep, your brain waves acted as if you were not in a coma, but merely sleeping and dreaming. As soon as he woke up, your brain waves went back to coma waves," Healer Roberts explained.

I frowned in thought. The first brief light popped into my head and I wondered if that had been Malfoy somehow. "Did he only come once?" I asked.

They both shook their heads. "No, he was with you, so to speak, five times in the past three days. His fifth time was today and today you woke up," Healer O'Neill replied.

My eyes widened again. "Five times? But what exactly was happening?"

"He never gave too many specifics. He seemed to want to keep parts of it between you and him. He did tell us that you talked to each other and spent time in various areas of Hogwarts. Whatever was happening, it helped you to come out of this coma. Do you not remember any of it?" Healer Roberts asked.

"All I can remember is light, lots of light towards the end especially. I don't remember anything else," I said quietly. Why had Malfoy been here? What had happened when he fell asleep? What did we talk about? How did whatever he was doing, bring me out of this coma? Where was he now? I needed to speak with him.

"Harry! Merlin's beard, you're awake!" Ron exclaimed as he walked into the room, rushing over to me. I notice that Hermione was not with him.

"Where's Mione?" I asked.

"She went down to the floos. She wanted to check something at work. I'm so happy you're awake!" he exclaimed. I looked up at him and smiled, momentarily forgetting all the things I still didn't know.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: This might not be what you all hoped for, but it's the way I went... What do you think? Good or not so good? Enjoy!**

 _Draco's POV_

I don't recall a time ever that I felt this heartbroken. I mean, I claimed to be heartbroken all the time when I didn't get a new broom, new toys, new books, new clothes, well, new anything. This, this feeling right here, was pure and true heartbroken. I didn't realize that those few precious hours could have brought me to this point. Had I been so desperate for Harry to be my friend that I let my feelings multiply and take one little thing and send my feelings flying? Merlin, this felt horrible. I shouldn't have let myself get to this point, but honestly, how could I deny something of myself? Something that I realized I had longed for?

I made it as far as the floo room before I collapsed on a bench and started to cry again. No one was around thankfully. I was devastated. Absolutely devastated. Everything that I had experienced with him had felt so real. Even though I knew that he would forget it, I still held out a tiny bit of hope that I had been wrong. I hated being right. Absolutely hated it.

The life debt had been repaid in my mind. I had helped wake him up when nothing else worked. Yes, I was hurting inside and knew that it would be a long time, if ever, that I would get over this, but I had helped wake Harry up. Now he could live the life he should be living and would be able to finally relax. Life was balanced once again.

I reasoned that I didn't deserve his love anyway. I had been horrible to him for so long and done horrible things in general. I didn't deserve even a friendship with him. For some reason, that made me cry even harder. I wanted those things so much though. I wanted him to like me and to want to be with me. I didn't just want that, I needed that. I felt empty inside.

"Malfoy?" someone called out to me.

I looked up in surprise and scowled when I saw who was calling my name. I wiped at my face roughly, but it did nothing to stem the tears. "What do you want, Granger?" I asked sullenly.

She looked at me in concern and walked over to me. "Harry's doing quite well," she said quietly.

I smiled at this. "I'm glad he's awake," I told her.

"Are you?" she questioned me. I knew what she was implying.

I sighed, my tears lessening. "Yes and no. Yes, because he needed to be awake and needed to be out of the coma so he could live the life he deserved. No, because that meant I could no longer be with him," I replied quietly.

"What happened in there?" she asked.

I felt the tears coming back and knew I should tell her. Why did it matter anyway? What could she do? She couldn't force Harry to remember everything that we shared in there. If he ever remembered, it would have to be on his own, with no help from anyone. "We shared something that I would never expect to share with him," I replied, still wanting to hold on to those memories and keep them to myself.

She gasped. "You fell in love with him?"

I looked up at her with a startled expression. "No, I did not fall in love with him, more like fell in like with him, like a lot," I told her. Love was too much and would have been too quick.

She frowned. "I'm so sorry, Malfoy. He gets under your skin, doesn't he?"

I laughed quietly. "Yes, that he does. Does he remember anything?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "The last thing he remembers is the forest and facing Voldemort," she paused as I looked at her with a horrified expression. She waved her hands at me and shook her head. "Don't worry, I cleared that up very quickly. He doesn't remember anything after that," she continued.

I sighed. He didn't even remember speaking at my trial. Now the only connection we had was at the Room of Requirement. Merlin, this sucked. "Interesting. Well, I hope that it will come back to him." I stood and started towards the floo.

"Malfoy, he'll remember you. He'll remember what happened in there," she tried to assure me.

I smiled slightly at her. "Thank you, Granger, for trying, but I don't think he will and that's okay. I'll always remember it and that's all that matters," I told her sadly. I waved slightly and then flooed home.

I tumbled out of the floo and collapsed into tears again. This was getting to be ridiculous. I hadn't cried this much since sixth year. I heard a faint pop, probably a house elf. The pop sounded again and then I heard a rustle of robes as my mother presumably rushed into the room.

"Draco, darling, what's the matter?" she cried as she knelt in front of me, pulling me into her arms.

"It's Harry," I cried.

I felt her tremble. "Is he dead?" she asked in a small voice.

I shook my head. "No, no, of course not. He woke up."

My mother leaned back and held me in front of her to look at me. "If he's awake, why are you so devastated?" she questioned.

I wiped my nose with my sleeve and then looked at it in disgust. Totally undignified. I sighed and took a deep breath. "He doesn't remember anything that happened while he was in a coma and I was visiting him," I explained.

"I see. Come on," she said as she stood and waited for me to stand. I sighed, perfectly fine with sitting there and wallowing in my pity, but I stood instead and followed her out of the floo room. She led me into the sitting room and directed a house elf to bring us some tea. I sat down on the couch heavily and sighed again. She handed me a tissue box and I took it, using it to wipe at my eyes and nose. I must look awful. Hell, I felt awful. "Are you ready to tell me what happened while you were with him or do I need to tell you what I think happened?"

I frowned and then shrugged. "Doesn't really matter either way."

She sighed and took a cup of tea and handed it to me. She grabbed her own cup and sat down across from me. "Draco, since you were a little boy, you had always heard stories about Harry Potter and when you came of age to go to Hogwarts, you wanted to be friends with him. He chose not to be your friend and probably rightfully so since I know how you behaved and how we were and how things were. As an adult, and with things differently now, being friends with Mister Potter became your goal again. I imagine that when you were with him, however you were able to be with him, that you two were friendly and then maybe it changed into something else and that's what you're having such a hard time with. You saw what could be and he doesn't remember a thing about it," she suggested quietly.

I stared at her in disbelief. She's so unbelievably intuitive. "That is…exactly what has upset me…." I trailed off. Now, what do I do about it?

"Why don't you start with thanking him, again, and see what happens from there. He may not remember it right now, but it's always possible that he'll remember it later," she pointed out.

"Granger said the same thing. I don't know, mother. What if he never does? What if I say thank you and he says you're welcome and that's that? What if it never goes any further than that? This hurt that I'm feeling right now won't go away. Actually, it'll probably be worse. I know I should be happy because I've repaid my life debt bond to him and I'm no longer tied to him in that way, but somehow I still feel like we're still connected. Is that strange, mother?" I contemplated.

She looked at me thoughtfully. "It's possible that you and Mister Potter have a different sort of bond, other than the life debt bond. You have been interconnected for years and bonds are tricky. Why don't you sleep on it? Tomorrow, you'll have a fresh perspective. Maybe you should go see him again tomorrow. Thank him," she suggested.

I frowned in thought. I finished my tea and felt calmer. I sensed that my mother had put a calming draught in my tea, but I didn't mind. It helped me to be a bit more rational. "I think that would be best. I-" I stopped talking and looked out the window to see an owl pecking at the window. I stood and walked over, opening the window. The owl flew in and landed on my arm. I took the note that was tied to his leg and opened it. My eyes widened as I read and reread the letter over and over.

 _Malfoy,_

 _If you are able, can you please come to the hospital as soon as possible?_

 _Potter_

I looked up at my mother in surprise. "Harry is asking for me…." I trailed off in wonder. I flipped the note over, grabbed a quill, and scratched a response back. I attached it to the owl's leg and sent it on its way.

"Are you sure you want to go tonight? Maybe waiting until tomorrow would be best," my mother questioned.

I shook my head. "He's asking for me to come as soon as possible. I can't wait until tomorrow. I'll be back soon," I said as I rushed over to her and kissed her quickly on the cheek. I made it to the door before I stopped and turned to look at her. I smiled fondly at her. "Thank you, mother." She smiled at me and waved me off. I ran all the way to the floo room and skidded through the room, into the floo, and threw down powder quickly and flooed away to the hospital. I rushed all the way to Harry's floor and then stopped. I was too eager. I needed to stop and catch my breath. I couldn't show Harry how much he affected me.

I took several deep breaths, calmed my breathing and my heart, and then made my way calmly to Harry's door. Auror Grady was on post tonight. He smiled at me as I approached Harry's door. I nodded to him and stepped into Harry's room. He was lying back with his eyes closed. It afforded me just a moment to stare at him and admire how much better he looked and remind myself of all the kisses we had shared. I felt my cheeks burning as I moved closer to him. He must have sensed that I was there because his beautiful green eyes opened and he was looking over at me. I smiled slightly, not wanting to be too overzealous. He smiled slightly in return.

"Malfoy," he said quietly.

"Ha-," I felt my cheeks burning even more and saw Harry take note that I almost called him by his first name. I cleared my throat, "Potter."

 **XXXX**

 _Harry's POV_

Ron settled next to me and told me everything that I had missed while I had been in a coma. Apparently, it was a lot. He reminded me that I spoke at Malfoy and his mother's trials. After he said that, I remembered being there and remembered the look of gratitude that I received from both of them. I wondered if that might be why Malfoy had been there when I woke up. No, that didn't make sense. He had clearly been crying and very distraught. Maybe he was hoping I wouldn't wake up…. No, that's not right either. What had been wrong with him? I really wished he was still here so I could find out what I missed because clearly I missed something.

"So like every single Death Eater has been sentenced and either sent to Azkaban or put on house arrest. Merlin, it's fantastic!" Ron finished. I realized that I hadn't heard most of what he had said, but with the way he ended, I figured I heard the main point.

"That's great, Ron. How is your family holding up?" I asked him. I didn't have to be specific. He knew what I was referring to.

I saw the sadness appear on his face and he sighed. "It's hard. Mum and Dad go through their moments of acting normal and then something reminds them of Fred and it sets them off. I guess, well, that's all of us really. George is having a really, really hard time. I've been keeping things going at their shop. He's starting to come around a bit more, but he is struggling. Ginny is doing okay, too," he replied.

I nodded. Ginny and I hadn't really gotten back on. Granted, I have been in a coma for six weeks, but I think that we weren't meant to be. She wasn't here now so I'm assuming she was in agreement with me. "I imagine it's hard for all of you. I can't imagine what it's like to lose a brother," I commented quietly.

Ron nodded and we sat there in silence for a while. "Did you feel Hermione and I try to get through to you?" he asked after some time.

I furrowed my brow in thought. "I don't know. I mean, the only thing I really remember is light and that was towards the end. Did you try what Malfoy was able to do?"

He nodded. "Yeah, we figured if he was able to get through, maybe we could."

"Were you able to?" I asked uncertainly.

He shook his head. "No. We tried, but all we saw was darkness. For some reason, Malfoy was able to get through though. I guess it doesn't matter either way because he helped get you out of this so however he got through, is fine with me."

I frowned. I really wanted to talk to him again. I needed to know what happened in there. I was about to ask for a quill and parchment to send him an owl, but Hermione came in looking worried. Ron and I both looked at her in concern.

"What's the matter, Mione?" I asked.

She sighed, glanced at Ron, and then looked back at me. "I've just come back from the floos. Malfoy was there," she said quietly.

I brightened at this. "Is he still there? I want to talk to him," I told her.

She shook her head. "He's pretty upset, Harry. He left already," she replied quietly.

"Why is he so damn upset? I don't get it! It's not like we're friends! Merlin, what is his deal anyway?" I demanded, really wanting to talk to him now.

She and Ron exchanged looks. Once again, with the exchanged looks. Why won't anyone just tell me what I want to know? "It sounds like you were friends in your coma," she responded.

I frowned at her in confusion. "What?"

"You became friends when he fell asleep and was with you here," she said again.

"We were friends? The healers said that we had talked, but I didn't know that it meant that we became friends. How strange. I really need to talk to him. I want to know what happened in there," I told them.

"You could owl him," Ron suggested.

I nodded and he handed me a quill and parchment. I scribbled out a short note and handed it to him. "Could you owl that for me?" I asked.

He nodded. The healers came in then and shooed them both out, saying something about me needing to rest. Ron and Hermione said good bye after a watery hug and a manly pat on the shoulder and promised to come back tomorrow. I watched them leave and lay back in my bed. I was not in the mood to rest especially considering I just woke up from resting for six weeks. I kept thinking about Malfoy and wondering just what had happened between us. If we had become friends, why had he been so upset? I may not remember it now, but would I remember it later? And was it really what caused him to be so upset? It didn't make any sense.

A mediwitch came in about twenty minutes later and handed me a note, presumably from Malfoy.

 _Potter,_

 _I'll be there soon._

 _Malfoy_

Okay, good, now I was going to get some answers. I closed my eyes, doing my best to rest, but struggled to keep my mind from rotating the same questions in my head about Malfoy. I was feeling tired and started to doze.

After maybe, fifteen minutes, I felt someone in my room. I turned and opened my eyes and saw Malfoy standing in the doorway. The brief look in his eyes that I caught brought me up short. It seemed strange and yet familiar at the same time. He smiled slightly at me which intrigued me. I smiled slightly back which seemed to please him. How strange.

"Malfoy," I said quietly.

"Ha-" He stopped and blushed. This confused me even more. He was about to say my first name. Why? "Potter," he finished.

He stepped further into the room and glanced at the chair next to me like he wanted to sit there, but instead he stood at the foot of my bed and shifted nervously.

"You got here quickly," I commented.

"Well, you asked me to come as soon as possible, so here I am," he replied nonchalantly.

I could tell that he was trying to keep something hidden from me. I bet it related to what had happened when I'd been in a coma. "Yes, well, I have a lot of questions about how you came to be here a few days ago, how you got me out of this coma, and how come you looked so distraught after I woke up," I said getting straight to the point.

I saw him start to turn pink, but he schooled his features and gave no other emotions away. "Straight to the point, I see…" he trailed off and looked a bit far off for a moment.

"You're remembering something, aren't you?" I asked calmly, but with a bit of accusation in my tone. I wanted someone to be straight with me instead of pussy-footing around me like I was some fragile being.

He stared at me and I hoped that I showed him clearly how angry I was and how I wanted answers. He sighed and stepped towards the chair. "May I sit?" he asked quietly. I nodded. He sat and faced me. I lay down on my side so I could see him better. He stared at me for several moments before I finally had to look away. His silver-blue eyes were just so intense and had so many emotions in them that I couldn't even begin to sort through.

"I came here that first day to thank you," he began.

"Thank me? For what?" I interrupted.

He smirked at me, but it wasn't in a mean way. "I'll get that out of the way first. I've said it to you like three times I think," he said with a chuckle.

I sighed in annoyance. "Act like I have no clue what happened while I was in a coma because that is exactly the case," I said angrily.

I saw him bite his lip and saw a glimmer of a tear at the corner of his eye. He looked hurt by my words. How odd. I looked away sheepishly. I saw him wipe at his eyes out of the corner of my eye and clear his throat and take several deep breaths. "I'm sorry. I came here a few days ago to say thank you for saving me from the Room of Requirement," he replied quietly.

My eyes widened slightly at his gratitude. "Well, I couldn't very well leave you behind," I told him. He looked up at me like he had heard me say this before. Perhaps I had.

"You should have. I didn't deserve to be rescued by you," he muttered.

I narrowed my gaze at him. "Malfoy, we may not have been friends or anything, but I most certainly was not going to let you die. You know me better than that! Besides, you didn't identify me at the Manor when I was picked up by snatchers. I couldn't very well let you die, when you risked your life to lie about who I was," I cried.

He had that look again like he had heard this before. Maybe we really did talk in there. "I do know you. We know each other better than I thought," he said quietly, once again looking far off.

"Malfoy, we really did talk while I was in a coma, didn't we?" I didn't have to hear anything more about what he wanted to thank me for. We had already discussed this. I could tell that we had.

He nodded. "Yes, we talked about a lot of things. Mostly what we noticed about each other, why we weren't friends in the first place, what you did while I wasn't there, and what the horcruxes were. We joked and laughed. We talked in the Gryffindor dorms, the Great Hall, by the Black Lake, the Quidditch pitch, walked through Hogsmeade, and back in the Gryffindor dorms," he explained. He blushed slightly a few times, but it didn't last long.

My eyes widened through all of this. I believed him, but I still needed to confirm if I really talked to him and told him real things. "Tell me what I told you about the horcruxes," I asked, shuddering at the thought of them. I knew that out of all those things, he wouldn't have heard about them from anyone else. Hermione and Ron wouldn't tell him and Dumbledore wasn't alive to tell him and Professor Slughorn surely wouldn't tell him.

He sighed and glanced down, shuddering as well. "You told me that the Dark Lord split his soul seven times. He would kill someone and say the spell and then he would take part of his soul and put it into something. You told me that he put the parts in his diary, a locket belonging to Salazar Slytherin, his grandfather's ring, Hufflepuff's cup, Ravenclaw's diadem, Nagini, and inadvertently you," he explained.

My eyes widened as he told me this. We had most definitely talked in there. I was mind blown by this. How was he able to break through the blackness and talk to me as if it were real life? "We really did talk in there…." I said trailing off thoughtfully. I wished I could remember it, but I couldn't.

"We did. We became friends," he said quietly, sadly.

I frowned at him. I could see him being upset with us not being friends for real, but as upset as he was before. That didn't make sense to me. "Why were you so upset when you left?" I asked him.

This time he couldn't hide the blush. He turned quite pink and I found it interesting. I watched the emotions flit through his eyes again and I found them to be interesting as well. I still couldn't decipher them, but they were interesting. "Um, I'm willing to tell you mostly everything that happened in there, but I can't tell you why I was so upset. If it's possible for you to remember, I'd rather you remember. It will make it easier for me. If you don't ever remember, then I guess it's just as well. Please don't be angry at me about that. I would tell you anything that you wanted to know, just not that," he implored.

I frowned; wanting to demand that he tell me, but I could tell this meant a lot to him and since he did get me out of my coma, I figured I owed it to him. I hoped that one day he would tell me, especially if I couldn't remember what happened.

"I'm not angry. I understand. Does it relate to how you were able to get me out of my coma?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I think so. I mean, I believe that I was able to get in there because of our life debt bond. You saved me from the Room of Requirement so I owed you a life debt. I think that how I repaid that was by breaking through the walls of your coma and helping you get out of it. It's the only explanation that makes sense."

I remembered that night at the Room of Requirement, but I also remembered something else. After we got out of the room and crashed into the wall, Malfoy and I were lying next to each other and our fingers touched and we briefly linked our hands together. I remembered staring at him, feeling something change between us. Maybe that was the life debt bond? I still felt like there was something between us and maybe it was whatever happened while he was inside my mind, but I wasn't sure that was true.

The healers came in again, just as I wanted to say something more to him. "Oh, Mister Malfoy, you're here. Are you well?" Healer Roberts asked sincerely.

I frowned as Malfoy blushed again. "Um, yes, I'm fine, thank you," he said nervously. I was very curious as to why Healer Roberts was so concerned about Malfoy.

Healer Roberts studied Malfoy for a moment, but Malfoy wouldn't look at him and instead looked at his hands. "Good, well, I apologize, but Mister Potter really needs to rest. You can visit tomorrow," Healer Roberts said. He nodded once to the both of us and left the room.

I looked back at Malfoy and saw that he seemed to be struggling with something. "Malfoy, what is it?" I asked him sincerely.

He looked up at me, slightly startled. He smiled a bit. "Nothing. Well, I will let you rest. I'm glad you're awake and I hope you won't have to stay here much longer. And, Potter, thank you again for everything," he said as he smiled at me sadly. He started for the door as I stared after him.

Something inside me didn't want him to leave. I found it to be curious, but I felt that there was so much more that was left unsaid between us. Plus, he seemed like he wasn't going to see me again and I found that I didn't like that possibility.

"Malfoy, won't you come back tomorrow?" I asked him boldly. I felt my face heat at this, wondering if I was making a huge mistake or misunderstanding what he was thinking.

He stopped and slowly turned to face me. His eyes were wide. "You want me to come back?" he asked uncertainly.

I nodded. "Yes. I feel like there is more that needs to be said here," I told him.

He frowned for a moment, but quickly smiled a bit at me. "Right, yeah, some things that need to be said. I'll come back tomorrow then," he replied.

He had turned to leave again. Ugh, I didn't want him to leave yet, not like this anyway. "Wait," I called out. He stopped, but didn't turn to face me. I frowned. Something most definitely happened when I was in that coma. Something more serious than us being friends. "I want you to come back," I told him honestly.

I saw the corner of his mouth turn up into a smile. He looked back at me. "Then I'll be back tomorrow," he said and then he smiled at me, a bigger smile than I had ever seen from him. My eyes widened in surprise at how amazing the smile was. It sent a little flutter through my stomach that seemed so strange. He waved and then turned, leaving me to sort through why I had reacted the way I did to his smile.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: The moment you've been waiting for, maybe? Dream me is Harry referring to himself. I thought coma me might be a bit strange or precoma me or something like that lol. Enjoy :)**

 _Harry's POV_

I stared at the place that Malfoy had been, trying to process everything that had happened while he was here. There was much to be left unsaid between us, I knew it. I had apparently missed a lot. I closed my eyes, trying to remember what I was missing, but instead I fell asleep.

I was in darkness again which freaked me out momentarily and then images started to appear. I was standing in a courtroom at the Ministry and Malfoy and his mother were sitting in the middle of the room in chairs. I was standing to the side, but I could also see myself standing near Malfoy and facing the Wizengamot.

" _Mister Potter, you are here to speak on behalf of Draco and Narcissa Malfoy?" the Head Warlock stated._

" _Yes," I replied._

" _What is your statement?" he asked._

I watched as dream me glanced at both the Malfoys and I realized that Draco was looking at me differently than I had seen before and differently than I noticed at the time. His eyes didn't have the mirth that they used to have and it seemed that as he looked at me and I looked at him, something subtle altered between us. It was similar to how we looked at each other after the Room of Requirement, but more intense. I pondered why I hadn't noticed it before, but maybe I had and I just shoved it away to think about later. Narcissa did not look at me, but she looked worried and I was sure that it wasn't for herself, but for her son. It's interesting what I didn't register when I was there.

" _Draco and his mother were instrumental in helping me bring down Voldemort. When I was picked up by snatchers and brought to the Manor, Draco was asked to identify me and although he knew it was me, he chose not to. He allowed me to steal his wand,"_ Dream me paused and I watched myself glance at Malfoy again and I saw that Malfoy was smirking, but not in a mean way, more in a way that seemed we were sharing a secret. I looked back at myself and saw that I was smirking as well in a similar fashion. Hmm….

" _And I was able to escape the Manor. When I made my way back to Hogwarts, I went into the forest to face Voldemort. After Voldemort had struck me down, presumably dead, Narcissa was sent to check if I was in fact dead. She knew that I wasn't, but still told Voldemort that I was. That led to me ending back up at the castle with Voldemort and I was ultimately able to defeat him. The wand that I had taken from Draco, helped me to defeat Voldemort. Also, in the end, the Malfoys came to our side and went against Voldemort. I believe that while Draco and his mother did do some things that were horrible, they were doing them for reasons that made sense to them. They were trying to protect their family. They went about that in a way that was not the best, but I don't think it should be held against them that they were helping their family,"_ Dream me explained.

I watched as dream me looked over at Malfoy again and I saw the look of surprise on both their faces. I remembered seeing that look and feeling curious about it, but I must have filed it away to review later because watching it now reminded me that I never did think more about it.

I don't know what happened after that because I was sent out of the courtroom, but at least I remembered something that happened before my coma. In my dreamland I kind of just floated around, images flipping by. I noted that it was small things that had happened after Malfoy's court hearing. I was with the Weasley's a few times and they were struggling to make sense of Fred's death. I felt my heart hurt watching them struggle. I saw Hermione and Ron being together. I remembered that I felt like I was intruding, but also that I was a bit jealous. I saw Ginny, but she didn't seem to have the same effect on me as she had before we had left to find the horcruxes. I wondered briefly about that, but then my mind seemed to go off somewhere else and something came to mind that didn't make sense at first.

I was standing in the Gryffindor dorm, facing the beds. Someone was sitting on a bed, talking to me. It took a moment, but they finally came into focus and it was Malfoy. I watched as he and I talked and I realized that he was thanking me for saving him and what I said at the trial. I heard everything that was being said between us. I told him what I had observed of him all these years and he told me the same. We joked, we laughed, and we got a bit heated in our words. This must have been the first time he visited me. We went to the Great Hall at one point. The looks and words and the blushing were all there. This was the start of whatever had happened while I was unconscious.

I woke from that dream. It was dark in my room so I just stared up at the ceiling with more questions than answers. I had remembered mostly what had happened from the end of the war and before going into the coma. I had remembered the first time that Malfoy had broken through. What was confusing me was all the blushing. I didn't understand why he was blushing and I didn't understand why I was blushing. Okay, so maybe that's not entirely true. Something was different between us in there, something was different between us in real life, and I felt that it all stemmed from the exchange between us after the Room of Requirement.

What had really happened between us? Was it really just a life debt bond? I didn't feel like that was it at all. There was something else between us. I wished Malfoy was here to help me sort through this. Of course, that might make things more frustrating because he wanted me to remember what happened between us, not him telling me. I sighed and closed my eyes again. I would hopefully see him tomorrow, if he came back that is. I frowned as the idea planted in my brain that he might not come back. I wasn't sure I liked that possibility at all.

I finally drifted off to sleep, but it wasn't as restful as the healers would have liked.

 **XXXX**

 _Draco's POV_

My mother was in the sitting room again when I arrived. She was looking at another set of tomes. She must really want to know what was happening between Harry and me. I felt a bit better because Harry wanted me to come back. Granted, I was sure that he just wanted to get me to cave and tell him what had happened between us, but he wanted to be around me regardless so I'd take it.

"How did it go?" she asked as I came into the room. She regarded me closely and smiled slightly when she noted my attitude was a bit better than before.

"It went well enough. He wants me to come back tomorrow. He believes me that we talked while he was in a coma somehow so at least there's that. He still doesn't remember anything after the battle, but the healers expect he will. Of course, that doesn't mean that he'll remember me," I said, sighing as I sat down on the sofa again.

She nodded as she listened and then glanced down at the book she was reading. I watched as she frowned slightly, as if she was debating telling me something. She sighed and seemed to come to a decision. "I've been reading about different types of bonds. The life debt bond is definitely something you and Mister Potter had, but I think there is another kind that you have."

"Oh, what's that?" I asked curiously.

"It's a general bond that can happen in any matter of ways, but it's a soul bond," she replied quietly.

"A soul bond?" I questioned.

"Yes. These can be rooted in all sorts of circumstances and can take a bonded pair from hate to love by a matter of circumstances. Sometimes they have a telepathic like link. It would explain so much about what you experienced while he was unconscious and what you're experiencing now," she explained.

I frowned in thought. It did make a lot of sense and I couldn't argue that it was wrong. Interesting. "That does seem very possible," I commented quietly.

She stood and handed me the book. "Read about it and see if it sounds accurate. I'm turning in for the night. I'm glad you're feeling better, dragon, and I hope that he does remember. I think, because of this bond, he will remember." She patted my shoulder and kissed the top of my head before she glided out of the room.

I read the section without really reading it. I was feeling hopeful again. Maybe he would remember after all. I sighed, trying to focus, and read it again. This time I actually read it and it only increased my hope.

After about an hour of reading in other tomes about it, I finally decided that I should turn in for the night. I was feeling lighter than I had the past couple of days and slept better. I hoped that Harry had slept well in the evening and I was looking forward to seeing him again, even if it was just as mere acquaintances.

 **XXXX**

The next morning, I ate a decent breakfast and made my way to the hospital in a much calmer fashion than the previous day. When I arrived at Harry's room, the not-so-nice auror was there. I frowned as I approached. He looked up at me critically, but said nothing as I walked into Harry's room. He was alone and appeared to still be asleep.

I approached quietly and sat down next to him. I didn't reach for his hand like I wanted to, but simply watched him sleep. It was probably quite creepy and if he woke up and saw me, any progress that we had made would probably disappear. I glanced around his room quickly and saw a Quidditch magazine nearby and summoned it. I held it in my hands, but kept watching Harry.

"Some might say it's weird and creepy to stare at someone while they're sleeping," Harry commented sleepily.

I felt my cheeks warm at this. "I wasn't staring at you. I was reading this Quidditch magazine," I replied, lifting it up to show him.

"Do you like to read upside down?" he questioned as he turned slightly to face me.

I glanced down and saw that it was indeed upside down. My cheeks flared up and I looked away from his imploring gaze. I cleared my throat. "Of course, it's more of a challenge," I replied, lifting my chin in defiance.

He chuckled and shook his head. "How are you this morning?"

I lifted my eyebrow at him in question. He was sincere in his question. It made my heart beat a little faster. "Um, better, I suppose. How about you?" I asked.

He frowned slightly which caused me to frown. "I'm more confused, but at the same time things are a bit clearer," he replied.

"Why are you confused?" I asked curiously.

"Well, I remembered a couple of things, while I was dreaming," he began. I closed the magazine and gave him my full attention. What had he remembered? "I remembered speaking at your trial and I noticed a couple of things that I hadn't noticed before, or I must have, but I pushed them to the side to focus on later," he continued.

"What did you notice?" I asked quietly. I was trying to think back to that day and wondered if I gave myself away at all of how my feelings had changed towards him. I couldn't remember.

He took a deep breath. "When I first got there and they asked if I was making a statement on your behalf, you and I looked at each other and the look was similar to the Room of Requirement, but more intense. Not in a bad way, but a good way. And then later on, when I talked about stealing your wand, you and I smirked about it, but in a way like we were sharing a secret. It was such a different exchange than anything that we had ever done," he explained.

I felt my face warming again, but I managed to tap it down. Now that he said it, I remembered that exchange more clearly. It had definitely been different. "I remember that as well. It was different, but it probably just stemmed from left over emotions from the Room of Requirement and the war," I replied. I didn't want to mention the soul bond or remind him of what happened while he was unconscious. Again, I wanted him to remember it.

He frowned. "I might agree with that, but I remembered something else," he responded. My eyes widened. I wasn't sure what else he would remember that related to us. "You and I were talking in the Gryffindor dorms and in the Great Hall," he said quietly.

My eyes widened in disbelief. He remembered our first meeting. "You remembered it?" I whispered.

He nodded. "All of it, from start to finish. Malfoy, we talked, we joked, we teased, we laughed, and we blushed…." he trailed off, giving me a look that showed how confused he actually was.

I nodded and looked down at my hands. He wanted me to tell him what happened, but I just couldn't. If I wanted this in real life, he had to remember himself. "Yes, we did," I said quietly.

"How did it make you feel?" he asked.

Uh, oh. I had to choose my words carefully because I couldn't tell him what I had told him the last time he asked me this question because that would reveal far too much. I took a deep breath. "I liked it. I mean, it's something I've always wanted with you since I was old enough to know who you were. As a child, I heard grand stories about you and I knew that you were someone that I wanted to be friends with. Granted, when I had the chance, I screwed up, but while you were unconscious and we hung out on that plane of consciousness, we acted as if we were friends. It made me feel like every dream that I had ever had related to being friends with you had finally happened," I explained.

He smiled slightly at me, but then he frowned. "Before I remembered our talk, I didn't realize that you had wanted to be my friend so much," he whispered.

I snorted. "Oh, I made it very obvious, but definitely not in the right way. Every angry word, curse, spell, whatever, that I said or did to you was because I was still hurt by you denying my friendship when we were eleven. I didn't handle things well at all."

He laughed quietly. "Well, I wasn't very understanding," he replied.

"I didn't make it easy," I muttered.

We sat in silence for a bit, both lost in our thoughts. "What if we tried again? If our unconscious selves can do it, why can't the real us do it?" he asked after some time.

I looked up, my heart pounding, my hope increasing that even if he didn't remember, we could still be friends. "I would love that," I said quietly, not even trying to hide my thrill at this.

"You won't screw it up, will you?" he teased.

I grinned. "Only if you don't," I teased back.

He laughed and nodded. He lifted the hand that was next to me and held it out to me. "Deal," he said quietly, a blush creeping up his cheeks.

My eyes widened as I stared down at his hand wishing that I could grab it, link our fingers together, and kiss him instead of shaking his hand. I looked back up at him and I must not have done a very good job keeping my real feelings in check because Harry was looking at me in a way that suggested things were starting to click together for him.

I reached out and gripped his hand and we shook. "Deal," I repeated. We held on for longer than necessary and when we finally did let go, we were both a bit pink.

"Good morning, Harry! I've got the Prophets for the last six weeks with me so you can see what's not true and then I brought all the Quibblers for you to find out what is true. I hope you got plenty of sleep because there is a lot you need to be caught up on!" Granger exclaimed as she came in to the room.

We both turned to look at her and saw that she had her nose in the Quibbler and was definitely not paying attention to what was happening between Harry and me. She looked up and gasped, looking between us in both surprise and embarrassment.

"Merlin, I'm sorry, Harry, Malfoy, I didn't realize that anyone would be here right now," she apologized, blushing deeply.

"It's fine. I will leave you guys to that," I said as I gestured to the large piles of Prophets and Quibblers and started for the door.

"Wait," Harry called out. I turned to look at him with a questioning look. He glanced between Hermione and me and then spoke again. "Will you stay?" he asked hopefully.

My eyes widened and I looked at Granger for a moment. She covered her mouth quickly, but I saw the knowing smile that she was trying to hide. She nodded her assent. "Um, yeah, if that's what you'd like. I can stay," I said.

"Yes, I would," he replied quietly. His cheeks colored slightly.

I nodded and came back over and sat down in my usual spot, picking up one of the Prophets. I could feel both Granger and Harry watching me, but I tried to read and not show just how thrilled I was to still be here. Neither of them said anything, but Hermione picked up the Quibbler that corresponded with my Prophet and we started to go back and forth, sharing with Harry everything that he had missed.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Short and sweet chapter, I rather like the next one ;) Enjoy!**

 _Harry's POV_

Malfoy and Hermione had just gone through all six weeks of the news that I had missed. By the end, I was bone tired. Hermione shrunk everything down and left. Malfoy left as well, but promised to come back tomorrow. It was evening now and I had just finished eating soup. The healers said that I could probably go home in the next couple of days so I was looking forward to that.

I closed my eyes and within seconds I was asleep. It didn't take long before I was dreaming. This time I was watching dream me sitting next to the Black Lake. I looked sad and lonely. I remembered the blackness and it reminded me of loneliness. I remembered that in the previous memory there had seen plenty of Hogwarts students around, but I was unable to talk to any of them. I watched as I saw Malfoy appear next to me and saw how pleased I was to see him. I wondered if it was because I had been so lonely there, but somehow I didn't think that was true.

Malfoy got straight to the point about how his mother helped me. I laughed because I remembered something he had said in real life about me getting straight to the point. That must have been what he remembered yesterday. I blushed as I heard what I said about being distracted and as I watched Malfoy, I could see that the idea intrigued him and I found myself feeling intrigued as well. Obviously dream me thought so too based on the blush covering my cheeks.

After that awkward moment, we talked a little about what happened with Voldemort and how I was a horcrux. Malfoy looked absolutely terrified about this. Interesting.

"… _I'm glad you chose to come back," Malfoy said._ What's this? We are looking at each other in such a way that I can feel my stomach fluttering and my heart beat faster. It was like the moment after he rescued me, but there was so much more there. I had already been thinking about it, but it was becoming even more obvious. There was more between Malfoy and me than just being friends. I knew it.

I had finished telling him the story about how his mother had helped me and I could see the love that Malfoy had for his mother and appreciation for her doing what she did to help me. I felt my heart beat a bit faster as I watched Malfoy. It was clear that his feelings for me were changing quickly. I watched myself look lonely again and close in on myself. Malfoy didn't hesitate and tentatively reached out to me. He made that connection and I watched in disbelief as I brought my hand over to his after a moment. We sat that way for a bit and talked some more.

I told him about how I believed something was keeping me there. I wondered what it could have been. Obviously whatever it was, it was gone since I had woken up, but I still wondered what had sent me into a coma in the first place. Malfoy was offering to help me figure it out and he told me how he somehow was helping me.

Malfoy was so different. After another moment, Malfoy told me that he was going to be leaving soon and that the healers had put him to sleep to be there with me. The last thing he said was that he wanted to talk to me so badly and that he had felt something at the Room of Requirement. Dream me looked surprised and intrigued by this and asked him what he felt, but then he disappeared.

I woke up and looked around my room. It was a bit lighter so I guessed it was early in the morning. I had remembered something else that had happened with Malfoy. He had a feeling that I knew I felt too at the Room of Requirement. I wonder what he thought the feeling was.

I couldn't wait to see him today. I wanted to tell him what I remembered. I almost wished that I had remembered more than that. I knew that I was missing something so important. I hoped that I would remember soon because I knew that it would help make sense of the way Malfoy was acting now.

I sighed and closed my eyes. I drifted off to sleep again, but I didn't dream.

 **XXXX**

 _Draco's POV_

I had spent the entire afternoon with Harry. Granted, Granger had been there as well, but it had actually been fine. She was actually quite enjoyable to be around and she challenged my intelligence on many levels. I enjoyed that about her. Harry had looked between us both with rapt attention as we told him everything that he had missed. He seemed to never lose interest in our story telling and only when we were finished telling him everything that had happened in the six weeks he was unconscious, did he show that he was tired.

Before I left, Harry made me promise that I would come back tomorrow. I was starting to wonder if even if he didn't remember what had happened while we'd been on that plane of existence together, if we could still get to where we did. It seemed possible, but I still wanted him to remember because I thought of that time as our first moments. I wouldn't want him to miss them, even if they hadn't been in real life.

I had gone to bed with ideas of possibilities floating around in my head. I dreamt of him, but not about anything specific. He was just kind of there, smiling and bright eyed. He preoccupied my mind in sleep and wake. He had always done that, I suppose, but now it was in a more positive way.

The next morning, I woke early, before it was barely light enough. I sighed, knowing I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. I got up, showered, and dressed for the day. I ate breakfast slowly, trying to elongate the morning so I didn't show up at the hospital at an ungodly hour. I made it until nine and that was really pushing it before I made my way back to the hospital.

I arrived at Harry's room and saw Auror Grady standing guard. We acknowledged each other politely and I walked into Harry's room. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, with his back to the door. A healer was talking to him; not one of his usual healers.

"Mister Potter, I know this is hard, but you have been in bed for six weeks. You've been getting physical therapy the entire time you've been here, but you won't be able to go home until you can stand on your own and walk several feet without getting tired," she explained to him.

"I understand, Healer McCoy, but should it really be this hard? If I've been getting the therapy, why is it so hard for me to walk?" he demanded.

"Each patient is different," she replied.

I heard Harry growl in frustration. "Can I help?" I offered as I made my presence known. They both jumped and I gave them both sheepish looks when I came over to the side of the bed they were on. Harry met my gaze and he smiled brightly at me.

"You're back," he said breathlessly. I looked at him as I realized that he repeated the same words from one of the moments we had experienced. My eyes widened a fraction and he gave me a questioning look. I relaxed my features, not wanting to give anything away.

"Of course, I am. I promised I'd come back," I told him instead. He smiled at me a bit longer.

"Actually, I think you can help. I was just telling Mister Potter that he needs to be able to stand on his own and walk several feet before he will be able to go home. Maybe you can get through to him better than me," Healer McCoy said in a teasing tone.

Harry glared slightly at her, but smiled. "He did get me out of this coma after all so he must have some super power of some sort," Harry joked back.

I blushed and rolled my eyes at him. "Maybe I'm just skilled at persuasion," I suggested.

Harry grinned at me. "Maybe," he said and he gave me this look that warmed my belly. I blushed further and glanced over at Healer McCoy. She wasn't blind. She could see that something was happening here.

"Um, what will you have me do?" I asked her, trying to calm my fluttering stomach.

"Well, I need you to just stand here and let him hold onto your arms and keep your hands ready to catch him if he falls," she explained.

It seemed simple enough. "Keep him from falling, got it," I said.

She laughed, but nodded. I placed my arms out and widened my stance to give myself a better grounding. Harry reached out and placed his hands on my biceps, closer to my elbows. I tried not to blush and I tried not to think about his touch and I tried not to think about the fact that we were closer than we had been since we had been in the other plane of existence. I tried to ignore the startling shade of green that his eyes were today and how wonderful he smelled despite using hospital soaps. I tried to ignore the color of his lips and tried to ignore the memory of how they felt on mine. I wasn't sure I was doing a very good job keeping it to myself because Harry was looking at me in such a way that it seemed that I had a flashing sign that showed all my thoughts to him.

"Are you ready?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," I whispered.

He nodded and gripped my arms as he stood up on shaky legs. I felt him waver and I grabbed his arms with my hands to steady him. I adjusted my stance to accommodate him more and he steadied out. We stood there, only centimeters apart, gazing at each other.

"Now, Mister Potter, you need to take a step forward. Mister Malfoy, make sure that you let him step first, before you step back," Healer McCoy ordered.

We both nodded. He stepped forward with one foot and I stepped back. We moved slowly around the room, but he was steadying himself quicker and moving faster every time. I could see how taxing it was on him, but the determination that I always saw when he was struggling through something was there. It was one of the many things that I liked about him.

We made it around the room five times before Healer McCoy insisted that he lie down and rest for a bit. He did so reluctantly, but she assured him that he made a lot of progress and that she would like him to walk through the ward for a bit a few more times today before she'd consider signing off for him to go home.

I sat down next to him again and after Healer McCoy left, it was just us. "You did great, Potter," I told him, biting the inside of my cheek to remind myself not to call him Harry.

"Thank you for your help," he replied, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Are you tired? I can leave if you want to rest," I offered.

He shook his head. "Yes, but I want you to stay. Will you just stay with me for a while?"

"Of course," I replied. He nodded and then he was asleep. I sat there for several minutes just watching him. After a while, I summoned the Quidditch magazine again and actually read it for real this time while he slept. One of the mediwitches brought me tea and a snack which I thought was very kind. I stayed that way for a couple of hours, while Harry slept, going between reading the magazine and watching him.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I just love this chapter :) Side note from the last chapter: I've never been in a coma or not used my legs for long periods of time, but I imagine that if Harry had been unable to move for six weeks that it would still be a bit difficult to get moving on his feet. I simply guessed as to how it might go. Well, enjoy this chapter! I sure do ;).**

 _Harry's POV_

I tired myself out walking around my hospital room. Malfoy had been so amazing and helpful. Healer McCoy was right; he was the only one who could get me to do it and get it done. Every minute that I spent with him, was a minute more of realizing that something was different between us. He knew I was tired, but he said he'd stay so I fell asleep again quickly.

I started to dream again. This time I was flying on the Quidditch pitch at Hogwarts. It was wonderful. At least I could enjoy that while I was in the coma. I wondered where Malfoy was and it wasn't long before he appeared. The look on both our faces was of pure wonder that the other was there.

" _You weren't gone as long this time," dream me commented, finally breaking eye contact with Malfoy._

" _I came back because I needed to talk to you again and because…." Malfoy trailed off_ and I found myself looking just as earnest as my dream self as to what he wanted to say to me.

" _Because?" dream me asked hopefully._

 _Malfoy sighed, "I missed you," he replied quietly._

 _Dream me widened his eyes and smiled broadly at him. "I missed you, too," dream me said just as quietly._

 _Malfoy grinned. "Well, who knew that that could happen?" he joked._

 _Dream me smiled further. "Hell must have frozen over," I joked back._

Wow, this was becoming more and more obvious to me. I felt something for him and he felt something for me. We shared something that I would have never expected us to share. I watched with rapt attention as the scene played out in front of me.

He declined my snitch challenge which was surprising, but once he started talking to me about what he needed to know, I could understand why he declined. He started off by explaining how his feelings towards me changed and that we were no longer enemies, but something else. Of course, he didn't know what that something else was and neither did dream me, and I didn't either, but I suspected something.

As we moved down to the bleachers to sit, Malfoy asked me to explain more about the horcruxes. This whole part of the memory was already told to me by him because I asked him to tell me to confirm that we had actually spoken to each other in this place. It was interesting to see the actual exchange though.

Towards the end of the horcrux discussion, Malfoy said something that caught my attention even more. _"My mother and I think that what happened to you somehow relates to you being a horcrux. We aren't sure how, but we're going to try to figure it out. I want you to be out of this coma. I want us to be able to be friends for real, not just in here, on this plane of existence."_

 _Dream me replied with, "I don't know if we can be friends outside of here."_ Wow, what a jerk. Clearly dream me had not been paying very close attention to how Malfoy was feeling about him. Geez, I can't be this dense in real life, can I?

Malfoy looked upset about this and much paler than usual. _"Why not?" he asked, his voice cracking with emotion._

Good question, Malfoy. My eyes widened as I watched what happened next. Dream me reached out and took Malfoy's hand in my own. My eyes, dream me, were brighter than I thought was even possible and I held Malfoy's attention with them and I watched by bated breath as to what would happen next. Somehow I already knew, but I had to see it for my own eyes.

" _I meant I'm not sure if we're meant to just be friends. Something happened when we linked our hands outside the Room of Requirement. I don't know what it was, but I think it's why only you can cross the barrier and not Hermione and Ron. There is something else here and I don't think it's just friendship," dream me explained._

Oh Merlin, I guess I'm not a jerk and not an idiot. I watched even more closely as Malfoy asked how I could be sure about something like that and dream me shrugged and said there was only one way to find out. I watched, unblinking, as dream me leaned towards Malfoy and he leaned towards me. I felt like I was on the edge of my seat here and then we both froze.

"Come on!" I cried, although it was no use as dream me and dream Malfoy clearly couldn't hear me.

Then, finally, Malfoy closed the distance and we were doing something that I never, in a million years, would have thought could be possible. I was kissing Malfoy and he was kissing me and we liked it…. I stared in disbelief as we shared the most beautiful thing that I had ever seen myself share with someone.

All the little thoughts that had been flitting around in my head. All the possibilities as to what was happening between Malfoy and I started to connect. His reaction to me waking up started to make more sense, although I suspected that there was still more that I didn't know. There was still more that we had shared.

The scene disappeared and I felt sad by that. I started to wake up and turned to look to where Malfoy had been and saw that he was still there, but had his head hanging forward. I heard him snoring softly and I realized that he had fallen asleep.

"Malfoy," I said in a quiet voice. He didn't move. "Malfoy," I called again, a little bit louder, but he only snorted a bit, but did not wake. I smiled and tried not to laugh. "Draco," I said loud enough. His head lifted and his eyes opened slowly at first and then he turned to look at me. I felt my heart stop for a moment at how beautiful his eyes looked when roused from sleep.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I must have dozed off…." he stopped as if he was realizing that he heard something that he wasn't sure about. "Did you just call me Draco?" he asked in confusion.

I smiled slightly. "Well, you wouldn't respond to Malfoy, so yeah, I thought I'd try your first name."

He laughed quietly. "Very well, then. Are you alright? Is something wrong?" he asked, sitting up straighter and leaning towards me.

I stared at him, wondering if he would let me kiss him. It was a startling thought, but watching us kiss in that memory was going to drive me crazy if I didn't see what it was like for real. He looked at me worriedly and glanced up at my potions lines, wondering if something was wrong.

"I'm fine and nothing is wrong, at least I don't think there is," I replied quietly.

"You don't think there is? I don't understand," he said uncertainly.

I sat up carefully and then shifted so that I was sitting on the edge of my bed. "Can you stand up?" I asked.

He looked at me curiously, but did as I asked. I reached out and took his hand and held it for a moment. He looked at me and swallowed nervously. The feelings from the Room of Requirement and when we had shook hands yesterday were there in the touch. I pulled him closer to me and looked up at him. His silver-blue eyes looked curious and yet apprehensive.

"I want to kiss you," I whispered.

His eyes widened and his brows shot up into his hair. "You what?" he whispered hoarsely.

"I want to kiss you," I repeated.

I saw him move his eyes frantically as he tried to give me a reason that we shouldn't. "Potter, I-" he began, but I shook my head and stopped him.

"I remembered the Black Lake," I stated quietly.

He looked at me in surprise. "You did?" he asked quietly.

I nodded. "I remembered the bleachers at the Quidditch pitch," I said in a low voice. I ran my tongue across my lips as I glanced down at his lips and then looked back up at him. He was blushing deeply now.

"You did?" he squeaked out.

I nodded. "I watched with avid interest as we kissed and I want to experience it for real. I want to kiss you, Draco, will you let me?"

He nodded slowly. He stepped closer to me and we were now face to face. I stared into his eyes, looking for any indecision on his part. I saw none. What I saw was hope and desire and feelings that I felt the stirrings of within me too. I reached up and brushed my thumb across his cheeks. He turned into my touch and closed his eyes. I felt my heart start to pound harder and my whole being fill with warmth. He opened his eyes and they were darker now. I didn't want to freeze like we did in the memory so I closed the distance between us and instead of not responding at first, like we did in the memory, he responded to me and I responded to him.

He was gentle and careful, but I could feel from the pressure that we had kissed much differently at another time. I could only begin to imagine how that must have been. I brought my attention back to his kiss and the feelings that flooded me. I felt like a part of me had been missing for a long time and that with Draco kissing me right now, it brought it back to me. Somehow this kiss felt like it was meant to happen and it was meant to happen with him. I would have never imagined this with him, never had the faintest idea in my head about it, before the Room of Requirement. Something had happened that day. Something had connected me to Draco in a whole other way. This was real. This was the realest thing I had ever experienced. Draco was real.

He broke the kiss this time and then stepped forward, wrapping his arms around me and holding me tightly. I was caught by surprise with this kind of affection, but soon I was holding him back and I felt his head resting on my shoulder and I heard him sniffle twice before he lifted his head and looked at me.

"I'm so glad you remembered that," he whispered as he appeared to be overcome with emotion and hugged me again.

"There's more, isn't there?" I asked, already knowing his answer.

"Yes," he whispered.

"It'll explain why you were so upset when I woke up?" I asked.

"Yes," he replied again.

He leaned back again and looked at me intently. "Harry, I want you to remember everything. I want you to be sure that you know it all before you think of me in this way," he said quietly.

I could see in his eyes that he was trying to protect himself. He didn't want to experience the hurt that he had experienced when I had woken up. I wondered if I had said something or done something that hurt him. I wanted to remember so badly. I liked kissing him. I liked the way he made me feel. I knew that he had strong feelings for me. I could tell, but I wanted to know how he got there and the only way I would, was if I remembered.

"Okay," I agreed. I wanted to kiss him again so I leaned towards him again and he met me easily. The kiss was over quickly, but it still reached deep within me. I knew that I didn't need to remember what happened between us anymore than I had because what I was feeling was true and pure, but I knew it mattered to him so I would wait until I remembered to take this any further.

"Mister Potter, it's time for you to…. Oh, am I interrupting?" Healer McCoy said as she walked into the room. She stopped short when she saw the position that Draco and I were in and blushed deeply.

Draco put some space between us which I found I didn't like, but knew was necessary. "No, not at all," he told her, looking at me sheepishly.

I smiled slightly, knowing that he probably was feeling the same way I was about moving away from one another.

"Oh, okay, well, um, it's time for you to take a walk around the ward, okay?" she stuttered through what she needed me to do.

We both nodded and Draco helped me up. I stood shakily, but I wasn't sure if that was from our kiss earlier or because I was still tired from my previous attempts around the room.

"Just take it slow. Walk from one end of the hallway to the other," Healer McCoy instructed as Draco led me into the hallway. I stopped in the doorway and grabbed the door jamb with my free hand. I took a deep breath and looked down the hallway. It seemed like a really long way to go. I must have shown my feeling about that because Draco patted my hand in reassurance.

"You can make it down there and back. You're too stubborn not to," Draco teased.

I glanced up at him and glared slightly, but smiled anyway because he was right. I took a deep breath and started down the hall. I moved slower than I would have liked, but it was much easier than the first time. It made me appreciate my legs and the fact that I would never take them for granted again, not that I suppose I ever knowingly did, but I wouldn't now.

We made it down to the end and I took a break. "Another reminder why it's important to keep our muscles in use," I said breathlessly as I seemed to exert myself more so than I would normally with walking.

Draco chuckled. "Yes, but at least it's easier than the first time, right?"

I nodded. I looked around at the other patient rooms, wondering who might be on this part of the ward. "I wonder of Professor Lockhart is in one of these rooms," I pondered as I peeked in a couple.

Draco's eyes widened and he started to laugh. "That man was the worst Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we had…. Well, actually, I suppose he was in the top three or four. Lupin was actually quite good as was Snape. Everyone else, not so much," he commented absently.

I looked up at him in surprise. "You thought that Lupin did a good job?"

"Yes, but I wasn't about to admit that aloud," he replied in a haughty tone.

I laughed and shook my head. Things like this would have irritated me about him before two days ago or maybe before I rescued him and I probably would have tried to hex him or something, but now I just found it endearing.

He looked down at me and frowned. "You look like you want to hex me, but not," he commented in confusion.

I laughed again. "No, I was just thinking that before I rescued you, saying something like that about Lupin would have made me angry and want to hex you, now I just think of it fondly, I guess," I replied uncertainly. It sounded strange to me, but it didn't really matter either way. I didn't want to hex him so that's what mattered.

He smiled at me. "Well, hopefully I can keep you from not wanting to hex me ever again," he said quietly.

"Doubtful. I'm sure there will be something that will make me want to hex you some day, but nothing too serious," I teased.

He feigned innocence and gasped. "I would never," he joked back.

I started to laugh more and shook my head. I liked this…. a lot. I looked up at him and he looked at me. We stayed that way for a moment just reveling in the difference between us. Draco had a lot of emotions in his eyes and a lot of feelings were being expressed there. I felt like he might be feeling more deeply about me than I was about him at this point, but I knew, once I remembered everything, that we would be on the same page. We had to be.

"I'm ready to head back," I said quietly.

He nodded and looked away from me. We started back to my room in silence, only broken up by a few encouraging words from Draco as we walked. Finally, back at my room and in bed, I was spent again. I closed my eyes and Draco stood next to me. It must have been close to dinner time.

"Harry, I'm going to let you rest, okay? I think Granger and Weasley are coming by this evening," he told me.

I opened my eyes and looked at him. He was smiling a bit sadly at me. "You're leaving?" I asked sleepily.

He nodded. He reached out and brushed my hair on my forehead to the side and he traced my scar. I didn't think this was the first time he had done that. "I'll come back tomorrow, okay?" he said quietly.

I nodded. He squeezed my hand and started for the door. "Wait," I called out to him. He stopped and turned to look at me with a questioning look. I felt my face heat with the question I wanted to ask. "Aren't you going to kiss me good-bye?" I asked nervously.

His eyes widened and filled with those emotions again. He gave me a pleased look and walked back over to me. He leaned down and kissed me tenderly again. Once again, I could feel everything that he was feeling in the kiss and it made me ache to know more about what he was feeling. I hoped that when I fell asleep this time that I would remember the rest. I had to. I couldn't wait any longer.

The kiss was over quicker than I would have liked, but Draco kissed my forehead which soothed the ache I felt. "I'll see you tomorrow," he whispered.

"Tomorrow," I whispered back before I closed my eyes and fell asleep.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Another chapter for all of you :) Enjoy!**

 _Draco's POV_

As I left Harry's room, a million things were going through my head. He had remembered two more of our moments together and he had wanted to kiss me in real life and I knew that he liked it and wanted to keep kissing me. That made me smile more than anything, but a thought creeped into my mind to steal that happiness away and it worried me because what if once he was all better and was out of the hospital, his need for me to be around went away? What if he was just interested in kissing me because of the memories and not because of how he really felt? My insecurities that weren't really there when we were together came flooding back when I left him. Was it all for real?

I sighed as I arrived at the floo room. I still felt the connection that we had pulsing within me so I really hoped that this soul bond was real and that it wouldn't go away when Harry was done needing me. I stood in front of a floo, still thinking, and barely registered it flaring and someone coming out. I stepped back in surprise and saw Granger and Weasley stepping out, brushing soot off their clothes.

Granger looked up at me in surprise. "Oh, Malfoy, you're leaving?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I've been here since this morning. He just fell asleep. He's had quite a busy day," I told them.

"How so?" Weasley asked.

"His physical therapist made him stand and do some walking today," I replied.

"How did he do?" Granger asked curiously.

"Before I got there, I think he was struggling, but once I started to help, he seemed to do better. We walked from one end of the hallway to the other before I left. He's pretty worn out," I replied.

She frowned slightly at me. I was beginning to wonder if I was upsetting her because I was able to get through to Harry when she wasn't. I wondered if I should back off some. I didn't want his best friends to hate me again because I was moving in on their friend. That would not bode well for Harry and me.

"Well, that's great. We'll just go up and see him, but let him sleep," she said, her tone suggesting that I just might be on the right track.

I nodded and watched them leave. Maybe I would come later tomorrow or the next day, as much as it would drive me crazy to not be with him. I sighed, deciding that I should do that. I figured I'd owl him and let him know tomorrow. I had to respect that his friends wanted to be with him too, without me imposing.

I flooed home and went to the kitchens to find something for dinner. I made a sandwich and walked into the sitting room. My mother was knitting again. She looked up when I walked in and she watched as I sat down. I must have been frowning or showing that I was bothered by something.

"You've been gone all day. Were you with Mister Potter?" she asked as I settled into the couch.

I sighed. "I was."

She looked over at me in confusion. "You don't seem to be pleased about that," she commented.

I shook my head. "No, it was a brilliant and amazing day with him. He remembered some things that we had experienced. I helped him get moving and walk some. It was just a great day," I told her, not wanting to tell her about the kissing quite yet.

She smiled. "So, if it was such a great day, why do you look so down?"

I sighed again. "Well, one because I had to leave…" I trailed off as she gave me a knowing look. I blushed a bit before I continued. "And mostly two because I think that Granger and maybe Weasley are getting a bit upset at the fact that I was the one to help Harry and not them," I finished.

She frowned and nodded. "I could see that being a problem for them."

"I thought that maybe I should either not go in to see him tomorrow until later in the day or maybe not at all," I said sadly.

She nodded in agreement. "Well, I can see how that upsets you. It seems more and more that you and Mister Potter have a soul bond if your reaction to being away from him and the dilemma with his friends is any indication."

I nodded. "I'm also worried that when he leaves that he won't really need me around anymore and that right now he's attached because I've been helping him and that once he doesn't need my help, he won't want me around anymore," I explained.

She frowned at me. "Draco, I think I know what happened between you two, but I want you to tell me. I can't help you sort through this if you don't tell me what happened between you two while he was unconscious."

I sighed. Keeping it to myself was getting harder, especially after today. I looked at her and she was giving me a patient look so I took a deep breath and told her everything that had happened between Harry and me from start to finish. Once I was finished, I was beet red and my mother looked thoughtful and was a bit pink herself. I looked down at my hands and avoided her gaze.

"Well, then, I'm positive now that you two have a soul bond that changed when he rescued you at Hogwarts. I am also positive that you love him whether you believe it yourself yet or not. I am positive that you can't keep this to yourself. You need to tell him how you feel. You're going to keep making yourself crazy wondering what will happen when he's out of the hospital. I'm strongly suggesting that you don't go and see him tomorrow. Be sure that you send him an owl about why you're not there in regards to his friends and just spend tomorrow sorting through your feelings and figuring out how and what you are going to say to him. He needs to know, Draco. He can't make an honest decision about you until he knows how you feel," my mother explained to me.

I stared at her in disbelief, her one word only confusing me further. Love. I didn't think that I loved him, but it seemed possible because I couldn't explain any other reason why I felt the way I did when I was with him and why it was so hard not to be with him. I sighed. "Alright, mother, you make a lot of good points," I said reluctantly.

She laughed and shook her head. "It will work out, dragon, I'm sure of it," she assured me.

I nodded and stood. I wondered if I should owl Harry tonight, but glancing at my time piece and seeing that it was a bit late, made me decide that I'd wait until the morning. I would see him in another day and everything would be fine. He might even be going home by that point and I could tell him how I felt about him with less people around.

I said good night to my mother and left her in the sitting room and retired to my room for the night. I spent my night between sleep and wake, thinking and dreaming of Harry again. I needed a resolution to us soon because I was not sleeping very well at all.

 **XXXX**

 _Harry's POV_

I had fallen asleep again and now I was watching dream me walking down the path towards the gates of Hogwarts. I must be heading towards Hogsmeade. Well, at least I could do that as well. Dream me was alone until he got closer to the gates and saw Draco standing there. I heard dream me gasp loudly at seeing Draco and I watched as Draco turned around and gave him a brilliant smile.

" _You're here," dream me said happily._

" _It's the next day, quite early actually," Draco said as he blushed._

" _Just couldn't wait to see me, could you?" dream me teased._

" _Something like that," Draco replied quietly._

I watched as dream me leaned in like he was going to kiss Draco again, but instead he tapped the gate and it opened. I scowled at myself because I saw the look on Draco's face and knew that he had been hoping for a kiss.

I listened as Draco explained what happened after he had left. Apparently, our earlier kiss had made quite the difference on real me. I frowned as I heard dream me say something that hurt Draco's feelings. Merlin, dream me was an idiot. I sincerely hoped that I wouldn't be this dumb in real life in regards to him. I listened as dream me tried to explain to Draco what he meant. He seemed to accept that dream me believed that Draco and I would have eventually kissed in real life and moved on from that. Obviously, dream me was right about that because Draco and I did kiss in real life and it was brilliant. I did wonder though if I kissed him because I had true feelings or because I was curious from the memory. I thought for a moment on that and decided that I did have feelings for him.

I watched as things started to get more intimate between us. I half listened to what either one of us was saying, but it was obvious that dream me missed Draco terribly when he wasn't there and that dream me thought about kissing him again. I knew what was coming. This time, the feeling was much more intense and I watched as dream me closed the distance between us and kissed Draco. It was amazing to watch again and I felt my heart swell at how close we were and how there was so much more between us than either one of us showed.

The longing was so evident between us for this to be real. I longed for it now even though it practically was. I followed dream us as we walked through Hogsmeade and looked at things, just being together, alone. I felt my heart beat faster as I focused on us and how much I liked seeing this and how much I wanted it to be real. I was starting to see how this would affect Draco in real life. I was starting to understand more and more why he had been so upset that day.

" _Do you think you'll remember all of this when you wake up?" Draco asked as we were halfway to the castle._

 _Dream me shrugged. "I don't know. I hope so."_

I froze as I realized that I hadn't remembered and that that was what must have upset Draco so much. When I looked at him for the first time, after waking up, I hadn't remembered any of this. I had looked at him with confusion, not warmth, longing, and desire like I did here. It was obvious that in here we had started a relationship and that Draco remembered every part of it when he was awake. I had woken up, remembering none of it. This explained so much about the emotions I saw that first day in his eyes and the way he reacted to me and the way he almost called me Harry. Merlin, Draco and I had fallen for each other and I hadn't remembered a thing.

"Draco," I whispered as I woke up in the hospital room.

I heard rustling and hoped that it was Draco, but when I looked, it was just Hermione and Ron. My face fell at seeing them which did not go missed by either of them. Hermione looked quite upset and Ron just looked confused.

"No, Draco is not here. It is just your best friends who have missed you terribly these past six weeks," Hermione cried

I frowned at her and then gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Mione. I just remembered something that happened with Draco when I was unconscious. I'm glad you guys are here," I said tiredly as I sat up, rubbing at my eyes.

Hermione frowned at me and I could see tears in her eyes. I glanced up at Ron who was staring at her in confusion. At least, I wasn't alone in my confusion.

"Yes, well, it seems like Malfoy is the only person you've thought of since you woke up," she pouted.

"That's not true, Mione, he asked how things were going with my family," Ron pointed out to her.

She glared up at him. "It doesn't matter. Malfoy has been the one who has been helping him this entire time. Not us!"

"Mione, please. It doesn't change anything between us. Come on, be grateful for how he helped bring me out of this and that he and I are friends," I told her, blushing at the end because I knew that we were on the way to being more than friends.

Of course, the blush did not go missed by her and she was momentarily distracted from her dislike of how much time I was spending with Draco. "Something happened," she said knowingly.

I blushed deeply and she gasped, covering her mouth. Ron looked between us in confusion. "What did I miss?" he asked.

"I remembered some of the things that happened between us while I was in the coma, you know, when he'd fall asleep and we'd be together. We shared a lot in there and honestly, Mione, I think we had a relationship. It explains so much as to why he was so upset when I woke up," I told her quietly.

"Relationship?" Ron muttered, looking a bit pale.

"That does explain a lot," Hermione agreed, looking apologetic.

"I'm sorry. I can understand why you're upset about Draco since he was the only one to get through, but that doesn't mean that it changes anything about the three of us. You guys are still my very best mates and mean the world to me. It's just…." I trailed off, unsure how to say what I was thinking.

"Malfoy is going to be a part of your life now," she finished for me.

I nodded. "Well, at least, I hope so anyway," I added uncertainly.

She nodded. "I'm sorry, Harry, I guess, well, I was just jealous," she apologized.

I waved it off. "I understand. Ron, you alright there, mate?" I asked noticing that Ron was staring blankly at me.

"Relationship?" he repeated.

Hermione and I both laughed and shook our heads. We decided to wait him out and Hermione and I just talked about other things while Ron stood there processing what 'relationship' meant.

Around nine, a mediwitch came in and shooed Hermione and Ron out. I watched them leave and then sat back in my bed, wondering what Draco was doing right now. I wanted to see him and tell him what I had remembered. I felt quite lonely again and it made it harder for me to settle down and think of something else other than him. I probably should spend some time thinking about how I really felt about Draco and if it was real. It sure felt real and I had seen what it could be like in real life from the memories.

I sighed and closed my eyes again. I would see him tomorrow and I would be able to talk to him then. I had to tell him what I was feeling. He had to know.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: So the moment is here... Enjoy :)**

 _Draco's POV_

I woke up late the next morning which was surprising. I supposed that it was because I had made up my mind last night that I wasn't going to see Harry today. I already hated it and I had been awake for barely a minute. I threw the blankets off and walked over to my desk. I sat down, rubbing my face roughly, and pulled a piece of parchment towards me and grabbed a quill. I stared at the blank parchment for a moment, thinking about changing my mind; damn his friends and all, but then a voice in my head reminded me that I had to be nice if I wanted to be with Harry.

I sighed and scribbled out a note explaining why I wasn't going to be there today.

 _Harry,_

 _I hope that you are doing well this morning and that you make sure that you get up and walk around so that you can go home soon. I am not coming in today because I think that Granger and maybe Weasley are not pleased with how much time I've spent with you. Neither of them has said anything to me, but it's just a vibe I'm getting. I will miss you terribly today and I'll be thinking of you, but I'll come see you tomorrow. I want you to spend time with your friends, without me interfering. I'll see you soon._

 _Draco_

I walked over to my window and opened it, whistling for an owl. He flew in and I attached the letter and sent it on its way. I frowned deeply and made my way back to my bed and crawled under the covers and turned towards the window, staring at it. I didn't like this at all. I sighed and continued to stare at the windows, thinking about how I was going to tell Harry how I felt.

I knew how I felt. I knew that I loved spending time with him. I loved kissing him. I loved how he made me laugh. I loved how he teased and joked with me. I loved how he made me feel. I loved…. him. My mother was right. That wouldn't go over well with Harry. He had just remembered our first kiss and I was about to tell him that I loved him. Yeah, I couldn't do that.

I sighed and flipped onto my back, staring up at the ceiling. I didn't know what I was going to do. I didn't know if there was anything I could say to him right now that he'd be willing to accept. I closed my eyes, drifting off to sleep again.

I woke some time later to the sound of tapping on a window. I looked over at the window and saw the owl I had sent earlier. I threw the blankets off and rushed to the window and opened it. The owl flew in looking slightly disgruntled which made me wonder if it had been out there longer than I had heard it. I reached out to take the letter that was tied to its leg and it nipped at me. I frowned at it, but fed it a treat anyway. It took it less than friendly like and then flew out the window. I shook my head and unrolled the letter. It was from Harry and it made my heart sink to read it.

 _Draco,_

 _I wish you were here right now. It's been a very lonely morning and I miss you. Healer McCoy made me walk some more today and I made two passes up and down the hallway just this morning. It wasn't the same as when you're with me. Hermione and Ron are coming at lunch today and Hermione did tell me that she was upset about you and how much you've helped me. I wish you were still coming today despite her jealousy. I have something to say to you and I remembered more about what happened between us. I miss you._

 _Harry_

I read his letter over and over again. I grabbed another piece of parchment and wrote a response.

 _Harry,_

 _I knew that she was upset. I saw her when I left yesterday. I could tell. I miss you too. I've slept all morning, trying to make this day go by faster so I can see you. What did you remember? What do you need to tell me? I'll come and see you first thing in the morning. It's not so far away._

 _Draco_

I rushed back over to the window and whistled for the owl again. He came back and I tied the note to his leg and he flew off again. I called for a house elf and asked for something to eat. They came back a few minutes later with lunch. I cast a tempus charm and noted that it was one in the afternoon. Morning would be here soon enough. I could wait. Couldn't I?

I ate my late lunch in my room and waited impatiently to see if Harry would owl me back. A house elf came back into my room and took my tray.

"Master Draco," he said quietly.

"Yes," I responded, turning to look at him.

"Mistress Narcissa wants to know if you are alright," he said.

"Oh, um, tell her that yes, I'm fine. I just want to be alone," I replied.

He nodded and disappeared.

I stood and started to pace again, wondering why Harry hadn't sent me a letter back. Then I remembered that he had said that Granger and Weasley would be there for lunch. I shook my head and laughed at myself. I sighed and walked over to the window and looked out across the garden. I didn't see an owl in the distance so I turned and went back over to my bed and lay down. I stared up at the ceiling again and drifted off to sleep. The past few days had apparently taken their toll on me.

Later, when I woke up, it was to tapping again. The angle of light in my room suggested that it was nearing dinner time. It took me a moment to get my bearings, but soon I heard the tapping more clearly and I saw my owl back at the window. I jumped up and ran over and flung the window open. He seemed to be less angry with me this time and accepted my treat nicely enough before it flew off again. I unrolled the parchment and read Harry's letter, smiling this time.

 _Draco,_

 _Sorry about getting back to you so late. Hermione and Ron were here and I thought that giving them my full attention was a good idea. I want to see you today. Please come and see me. I'm going home soon and I just need to talk to you before I do that. It's important. Don't worry about responding to this, just come._

 _Missing you,_

 _Harry_

Merlin, there was no way that I could deny him this. I had to go to him. My resolve was completely unraveled. I wondered if what he had remembered was what was left for him to remember. I rushed through a shower and dressed quickly. I ran out of my room and down the steps. My mother was walking down the hallway looking worried.

"Oh, Draco, thank goodness. Wait, where are you going?" she asked as I ran past her into the floo room.

I stopped and looked at her. "I'm going to see Harry. I can't wait until tomorrow. Plus, he needs to see me tonight. I have to go, mother," I insisted as she gave me a look that tried to persuade me otherwise.

She frowned, but nodded. I returned her nod and jumped into the floo, calling out my destination. I ran, all the way to Harry's room, and then skidded through the door, completely ignoring the critical auror that was at his door. Harry was sitting at the edge of his bed, looking up at me with an unreadable expression. I paused, the smile that had been on my face, slipping away. I looked at him in confusion.

"I remembered everything," he said quietly.

 **XXXX**

 _Harry's POV_

I hadn't dreamt anymore during the night which seemed odd to me since I always remembered something while I slept. I didn't worry too much because deep within me, I knew there was one more memory I needed to remember.

I woke up early in the morning and struggled to fall back asleep. I dozed most of the morning, waking many times, hoping that each person that came into my room was Draco. It never was though. A mediwitch came in around eleven and gave me a letter that had come for me. It was from Draco. He wasn't coming today because of Hermione and Ron. I sighed and scribbled a note back. I understood, but I couldn't hide my disappointment at all. I wanted to see him today. If I couldn't dream about him, I wanted to see him in person. I contemplated if I would feel this way once life returned to normal for me. Well, a new normal. Maybe that would include Draco?

I fell asleep again and then Hermione and Ron came, bearing an owl that had come from me. I set it to the side, knowing that it was from Draco. I spent time with my friends for a couple of hours until they left around two. I reached for Draco's letter and read it. Tomorrow would be here soon enough. That was the last thought I had before I drifted off to sleep again.

I materialized in darkness and momentarily panicked again, but then I heard soft snoring and knew that I was back in the Gryffindor tower. I listened, wondering what happened here.

" _Harry?" Draco whispered into the darkness._

I moved towards his voice and heard what sounded like a book close. I heard movement in the bed closest to where Draco was and knew that it had to be me.

" _Merlin, you got back so fast!" dream me cried._ It was obvious that I was more than pleased that Draco was back and I watched as dream me pushed Draco over and laid down on the bed next to Draco. We were so close. I felt myself blushing at this. This moment was more intimate than any other moment we had spent together in this plane of existence. Somehow I felt that it was about to get more intimate than this.

" _A lot happened while I was visiting with you before. You actually smiled and gripped my hand at the hospital," Draco told me._

" _I did?" dream me asked in surprise._

" _Yeah. You're making progress. I think I've also figured out why I'm here," Draco told me._ I could hear the sadness in his voice and I wondered if this would explain how he could get through to me when nothing else would work. I also wondered why he was sad.

" _Why?" dream me asked in confusion._

" _I owe you a life debt and I'm repaying it by helping you get out of your coma," Draco said quietly._

A life debt? We already talked about that. I was hoping that he would have some other reason why he was able to get through.

" _Well, isn't that a good thing? I mean, the life debt would be repaid and we wouldn't have that hanging over our heads once I get out of here," dream me replied._

I watched as Draco reached out to take my hand. I wanted to get closer so I could see us better. I sat down on the bed, at our feet. I watched as Draco took my hand and kissed it. I smiled at how sweet he was being.

" _Yes, but I think that everything that we've experienced in here, will only be remembered by me. Our only bond is this life debt bond. Once that's repaid, our bond, our connection, will be gone. Everything in here will have been literally just a dream. A very vivid and wonderful dream that I will remember always," Draco explained._

I frowned. Draco seemed like he was giving up on us. Not to say that I couldn't blame him because the fear came true. I didn't remember any of this when I woke up. I sighed as I watched this unfold.

" _Draco, let's not worry about that right now. We can't waste the time we have worrying about something that isn't a guarantee. Just talk to me about something else," dream me insisted._

" _You called me Draco," he whispered._ I watched as I saw something glimmer in the corner of his eye and I knew, as he wiped at it, that it was a tear. That explained his surprise when I called him Draco in real life. I felt like what he said now was what he said exactly in the present. I smiled. I was amazed that something as simple as calling him by his first name would cause him to react in such a way.

We laughed about that and joked about the way we said our last names before when we didn't like each other. It seemed like so long ago.

" _Why don't you think I'll remember?" dream me asked after a moment._

 _Draco sighed. "Because I was put to sleep willingly, you weren't. I just don't think that I'm getting into your brain in the same way as you get into mine. As soon as I wake up, I want to be asleep again to be with you. That's not normal and I'm afraid that when you do wake up, you'll forget that any of this happened and I'll be living in this world that we've been in together and you'll be living in the real world and not with me in any way."_

I felt my heart constrict at the obvious anguish in Draco's words. How right he had been. This has been so hard for him. I watched as dream me scooted closer to him and then I watched as dream me started to kiss every spot that he could, soothing the pain that was evident in his voice.

" _I can't imagine not wanting to be with you after all of this. How could I not want to kiss you in real life after I've kissed you here and felt how it makes me feel?" dream me whispered_ before dream me kissed Draco gently.

Dream me wanted Draco just as much as he did on this plane. The image of Draco's tear streaked face when I woke up made even more sense now. He was crying now and I watched by bated breath as our kiss deepened. I felt a bit strange, watching what we were doing, but I could feel the love and the desire emanating from us. This was as real as it was going to get and we looked perfect. We were meant to be. I could see how we were meant to be. Draco knew, from the very beginning, that we were meant to be together. This, right here, us, was the most beautiful thing in the world. This was devotion. Draco knew that I would forget. He knew how much this would hurt him and destroy him, but he did it anyway because he cared for me and he wanted me to wake up. He did all of this, for me. He put himself through this pain for me. I didn't know how I felt about that right now.

" _How do I make you feel?" dream me asked._

" _Like I have never been so wrong in my life," Draco said breathlessly._

" _How so?" dream me asked, grinning._

" _Like all these years that I've been fighting with you were wasted when I could have been doing this instead," Draco replied._ Draco pulled dream me down for another kiss and then dream me was grinning again.

" _But just think all that pent up aggression towards one another could be of great benefit to us. Kissing is a great way to release that aggression positively amongst other things that we could do to one another," dream me teased._

I blushed, right along with Draco. Dream me was very bold.

" _Merlin, Harry, you're quite randy for a bloke in a coma," Draco teased back._

 _They both laughed. "Draco, in all seriousness, how do I make you feel?" dream me asked again._

" _You make me look forward to another day and another time that I can be with you. You make my heart beat faster when you kiss me and my face and belly feel warm in anticipation. You make me feel sadness and loneliness because when I'm not with you, that's all I can feel until I'm here with you again. You make me feel like my life matters and that you found me important enough to come back for when you should have just let me perish in that fire. Simply put, you make me feel everything," Draco whispered._

Wow…. I…. My heart stopped as I processed what Draco had said. I made him feel all those things? Well, dream me made him feel all those things? Merlin, I hurt him so badly when I woke up. How could I face him, knowing how much I had hurt him by not remembering? I wondered if Draco would tell me this in real life. I wondered what dream me said in response, aside from kissing him.

" _You took away the loneliness the second you arrived here. You made me realize that night after we crashed into that wall and linked our fingers together that there was so much more there than just you being my enemy. I feel sad when you leave and elated when you're back. I find you funny and handsome and intelligent. Every moment that I have spent with you here gets better and better. If I forget this, when I awaken, I will hate myself because this has been the most real thing I've experienced in a long time. I can't imagine waking up and not remembering this. Remembering how you feel against me in all the ways that we've touched thus far." Dream me said quietly._

Well, then, that about sums it all up right there. I didn't remember feeling any of that, but maybe that was just what my subconscious felt. Thinking about it now, I did feel lonely when Draco wasn't here, even if Hermione and Ron were here. I wanted to spend every moment I had with him. In real life those moments have been great, but I knew that Draco was holding back and now I knew why. I appreciated that he didn't smother me with his feelings before I remembered what happened between us. I did hate myself for this. I hated that I hurt him so badly.

" _If you forget this, don't hate yourself. I will understand and I will just hold these moments close to my heart where you planted yourself in this plane of existence. Let's just stop talking about that and just be here like this. If this is all I can have with you, I'll take it," Draco assured me._

No, Draco, this isn't all you can have. I want you like this for real. I want to be planted in the real world with you. I felt tears coming to my eyes at how horrible this was. How final it all was. I watched as no more words were said, but much more was expressed through our kisses and our touches. He was careful with me and gentle. Despite this being the end of us, he wasn't rushed. He wasn't frantic. He cherished every moment and held me as close to him as he possibly could. He was committing everything we were sharing to memory. He knew that I wouldn't remember, but he knew that he would and he knew that he needed to keep this in his mind because that would be all he had left. I hated myself.

I watched as this continued for a long time it seemed and then suddenly something changed. I started to feel something even on myself now. Something was happening to dream me.

I watched as Draco sat back and I saw the look of pain in my face. What was happening to me? _"Harry, what's the matter?" Draco asked nervously._

" _I feel like I'm being sewn up, like I'm getting stiches," dream me said in a tight voice as he massaged his chest._

I had a moment of panic as I brought my hand to my chest feeling the ghosting of pain from this moment. I knew I didn't have a heart attack, but it sure seemed like that's what was happening.

" _I don't know how I can help you. I hope that everything is alright with you in real life," Draco said just as nervously as before, if not more._

" _Kiss me again, Draco. Distract me from it," dream me whispered._

I watched as Draco did just as dream me asked. This time it was much more intense between us and I watched in utter amazement as Draco gave himself over to me. Dream me was kissing him like his life depended on it. I possessed him and he allowed me to control the whole moment with him. I found myself completely aroused by this, more so than any of the other moments that we had shared. This aggression and need was quite apparent and I wondered how this would be in real life. I felt my cheeks flame at the thought.

We broke apart for just a moment and I could see the pain on my face. _"Harry, you're not alright!" Draco cried, worry evident in his tone._

" _Please keep kissing me. You're making me whole again," dream me said through clenched teeth._

" _What?" Draco asked confusion evident._

" _Please, Draco," dream me begged._

Draco gave in easily and if it could become more intense, it did. We were doing things that in real life I knew I would not have been able to last that long. There was so much passion and desire and burning need between us. There was no way I could stop myself from releasing if this had been real life. Right now, I felt like I could and probably was in real life. How embarrassing.

After a few more moments of the intense kissing, dream me calmed and seemed to be in less pain. We soothed each other and it appeared that I could fall asleep at any moment, even though I knew that I couldn't do that there.

" _Are you alright?" Draco asked._

" _Yes, thank you. I don't know what happened, but I feel whole again. I didn't tell you this before, but I had been feeling like something was missing the entire time I was here until you showed up. Since you've been visiting me, I haven't felt it or I've felt it disappearing. Tonight, I felt as if my soul was being sewn back together because of you. Thank you, Draco. I have never felt as complete as I do now, even in life," dream me explained._

Draco pulled dream me closer to him and wrapped me up in his arms. It was protective and loving. I felt warm just seeing it and wondering how it would feel in real life.

" _That must mean you're close to waking," Draco whispered._ The sadness was back and I started to feel it again too. This had to be it. This was the part that made Draco so devastated when I woke up.

" _You don't sound like you think that's a good thing," dream me said in an accusatory tone._

"You're a bloody idiot dream me! Obviously it's not a good thing because we won't remember this!" I yelled at dream me.

" _It's a wonderful thing, but it means that I don't get to have you like this any longer," Draco replied._

" _You don't know that," dream me replied, moving away and sitting up._

I wanted to reach out and slap myself for being so ridiculous. I was wasting the few precious minutes I had left with him by being a baby.

" _You're right, I don't know that. I could be completely wrong, but I'm so afraid that I'm not," Draco said honestly._

" _I don't want this to be over if it means that we can't be together like this. I've had you, I don't want to lose you," dream me said quietly as he turned to look at Draco._

" _The beauty of it is this; you won't remember any of it so you won't miss it. I, on the other hand, will remember it and although it breaks my heart to think that you and I can't be together like this in real life, I will cherish every moment we've spent here for the rest of my life," Draco replied, smiling._

I couldn't stop it, the tears were coming now. This was breaking my heart right now. I understood exactly how he was feeling. I was in love with the us in here. I wanted this so badly in real life. Could we have this? Could Draco and I be in love in real life? It was obvious that we were in here, but could that transfer into real life? Could I feel how dream me felt?

" _Let me kiss you once more, please," dream me requested._

" _Of course," Draco whispered._

I watched through my tears as we kissed once more and I saw that both of them were starting to fade.

" _Good-bye, Harry," Draco whispered._ We linked our fingers together like we had at the Room of Requirement and then Draco was gone, I was gone, and I was staring around the hospital room, waking up from my coma. I looked to the door, seeing Draco there, the devastation evident in his eyes. He was crying and now I knew why. I had broken his heart. I hadn't remembered.

I woke up for real this time and found myself sitting up and sobbing. The one thing I had been hoping for since I had woken up was now clear to me and I wished I didn't know. I reached out blindly and grabbed the note that Draco had sent me. I scribbled a note back to him telling him that I needed to see him.

I calmed myself enough to call a mediwitch in to me and have her owl the letter to Draco. Once she left, I sat on the edge of my bed, knowing that Draco would be here any minute. I stared at the door, tears coming to my eyes again. How could I have let that happen? How could I have let Draco fall for me in there? It was a miracle that he even wanted to spend time around me after I pulled his heart out and smashed it to pieces. Merlin, how could I face him again? I did hate myself. He didn't deserve this.

After about fifteen minutes, I heard someone running towards my door. I looked up, knowing that it was Draco. I saw a smile on his face, but it dropped as soon as he saw me and the way I looked. He looked confused.

"I remembered everything," I said quietly.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: You love me, you know you do. Well, at least like me somewhat. Enjoy :)**

 _Draco's POV_

I stared at Harry as I processed what he said. "You remembered everything?" I asked in confusion, unsure of what I had heard. He nodded. I felt my stomach flip flop as anxiety started to creep in. He didn't look happy that he had remembered everything. He looked quite upset. "You don't seem how I imagined you'd be…." I trailed off, stepping a bit more into the room.

"Can you shut the door?" he asked quietly.

I reached behind me and shut the door. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"That last memory of us, before I woke up, was amazing. It was the most wonderful thing I had ever witnessed. Seeing us like that was brilliant," he began.

"So why are you so upset?" I asked uncertainly.

He sighed and I saw tears in his eyes again. He had been crying and now he was going to cry again. "Because I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have let you fall in love with me like that knowing that it wasn't real, despite how it felt to you and to dream me. I was so selfish. I was so desperate for companionship that I did all that I did in there without thinking of the consequences," he cried.

I nearly choked. "Fall in love?"

He looked up at me, blushing slightly. "You didn't see it from my perspective. Draco, in that last memory, we were in love. The things we said to each other, the things we did. We were in love. And you! You were amazing to me! Merlin, I so badly wanted to replace dream me with real me just to experience your affection and tenderness and care. You were wonderful," he exclaimed.

I recovered from the love comment. I had already figured out that I had fallen in love with him, but it was different coming from him like this. "So why are you so upset?" I asked again, still confused.

He stood up, shakily for a moment, which caused me to step forward to help him, but he stabilized and started to pace around the room. "You told me not to hate myself when I didn't remember everything. That was one of the last things you told me, but Draco, I do hate myself. Your devastation when I woke up makes complete sense now. I broke your heart. I made us real, and I shouldn't have done that," he replied.

I shook my head at him. "Harry, you remembered it all. There's no reason to hate yourself. We can have what we had in there, if you want," I told him honestly, hope in my tone.

He looked up at me with wide eyes. "I don't know if I can! I hurt you. I know I hurt you. I can't even begin to repay you for helping me get out of this coma. Actually, no, I did repay you by forgetting everything that happened between us. I can't change that I hurt you and I don't know if I can even begin to fix this," he explained.

I walked over to him and took his hands, bringing them up to my lips as I kissed them gently. "You're being too hard on yourself. You remembered us. You remembered what happened in there. You were able to see what could be. Was I heartbroken? Yes. I'm not going to lie and say that I wasn't. Was it your fault? No. I shouldn't have done what I did. I shouldn't have let myself fall for something that wasn't real. It helped you get out of your coma, yes, but I shouldn't have done it. If anyone broke my heart, it was myself. The way you can break my heart now is like this; by hating yourself for something that you weren't even aware that you were doing. That breaks my heart. If you choose, after all the things we shared, that you don't want to be us in real life, that will hurt, but I'll understand. I care enough about you to give you that."

His green eyes moved back and forth, swimming with tears. I hoped that I was showing him that I would understand if he didn't want me in real life. It would break my heart, but it would be my own doing. I could have shut down what we did in there, but I didn't because I didn't want to. I wanted Harry in the way that I had him in the other plane of existence. I wanted it so badly, but if he didn't want that, I wasn't going to make him feel bad about it. This all was thrust onto him by my hand.

"The entire time I watched us in there, the words and kisses and touches that we exchanged, reached deep within me. The anguish and sadness that you felt, I felt it too. The love, desire, hope, need, all of that, I felt them deeply. I wanted you so badly and I'm afraid that in the real world, that same want may not be there for either of us," he replied.

I stared at him, not wanting to see what he was trying to tell me. I still wanted him here in real life. I wanted everything that we had in there and I believed it was possible because we had kissed and we had had some moments here that were similar to the us from his coma. "Listen to me; I'm going to tell you what I think, okay?" I began. He nodded. "Ever since the Room of Requirement, you have been on my mind. You've always been on my mind since we were eleven, but this time it was different. I thought of you often in ways that were different than I had before. When you spoke at my trial, I was grateful, but more than that I was hopeful that you and I could be friends for real, finally. When you went into your coma, I thought about you constantly. I wanted to thank you for what you did both at Hogwarts and at my trial. I also felt angry because I felt like our chance of being friends was gone, again. It was selfish of me because you couldn't help that. Anyway, I finally decided that I was going to thank you, in a coma or not, and then we made that new connection and I wanted it so much, that I just let it continue. I finally had my opportunity to be friends with you and I was going to take it, no matter how," I explained to him.

"I didn't realize that you wanted our friendship that badly, well, before I remembered everything anyway," he replied.

I laughed. "It's really sad if you think about it, but it's what I most desired or at least I thought that was what I most desired," I mused, looking away thoughtfully.

"Being friends with me isn't what you most desire?" he asked uncertainly.

"It was, until things changed. Now what I most desire is just you. I'd prefer to have you the way that I did in your dreams, but if all I can have is a friendship with you, than that's all I can have. I'll take whatever I can get," I replied.

He looked up at me angrily. "But that's not fair to you! You don't want to just be friends with me, you want more! I'm over here, not knowing what I want, or I think I know what I want, but I'm worried that it's not as real as it seems! I can't hurt you again. Don't you understand that?" he cried in exasperation.

I stared at him. He was talking crazy talk. I hadn't even gotten to the good part where I told him that how I felt about him and about his concerns. I stepped closer to him, bringing my hand up to his face. He closed his eyes for a moment and turned into my touch. I brushed my finger against his cheek. "Harry, I know you're stubborn, but you need to listen to me for a moment. Whatever you want from me whether it's just friends, not friends, or more than friends, I will do. I did fall in love with you, you're right, and that's why I will accept whatever you want for us. I'm not going to pressure you. That's no way to start a friendship, should you choose that path anyway. Maybe I need to give you some space? You've been through a lot these past couple of days and space is something you need more than anything," I told him, assuring him that I would let him choose what he wanted. I really hoped that he didn't choose for us to be nothing at all, but if he did, I'd accept it.

He stared at me and I saw several emotions cross his beautiful green eyes. I smiled at him and leaned forward to kiss him gently. He accepted the kiss, but I didn't push for more than that one, short kiss.

"I don't know how I feel, Draco. Maybe you're right, maybe I do need some time," he said quietly.

I moved my hand away from his cheek and brought it back to his hand. Our fingers were linked together and he looked down at our joined hands.

"When do you go home?" I asked quietly, brushing my thumb against the back of his hand.

"Tomorrow," he whispered.

I nodded. "If time is what you need, I'll give that to you. You know how to reach me, if you want to that is. Just remember that everything that happened on that plane was real to me. You did not hurt me. None of this is your fault, okay?"

He nodded and looked up at me sadly. I smiled, even though my insides were destroyed. I leaned forward and kissed his cheek. I squeezed his hands and let go, stepping away from him. "Good-bye, Harry," I whispered as I backed up to the door.

He stared at me fearfully, but said nothing. I smiled again and turned and left his room, closing the door behind me. My heart was broken again, but the only person I could blame was myself. I did this to him and myself. This was my fault.

I made it back home, saddened by what had happened with Harry. I had no idea what he was going to decide. I really hoped it would be me in any way that I could have him, but I wasn't confident in that. I sighed and felt an ache in my chest. I wondered if that was the bond stressing over Harry and me not connecting. I wasn't sure and was too tired to ponder about it.

"Draco, how did it go with Mister Potter?" my mother asked as I started up the stairs. She was coming from the kitchens, probably heading to bed.

"Um, not well. He remembered everything and now I think he's super overwhelmed and doesn't know how to feel about me, us, the memories. I don't know. I told him to take some time and think about it. I told him that I did fall in love with him and that no matter what he decided, I'd accept it," I told her sadly.

She frowned at me. "Do you think you could really accept it if he didn't want anything with you?"

I felt my eyes get watery again and I shook my head. "Not really, but I would have to," I told her quietly. I turned and walked up the stairs, ending the conversation with her. I didn't want to talk about it anymore. I just wanted to go to bed and cry and sleep and never wake up again.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I feel like some of you were unhappy with me with the last chapter. How unfortunate ;) You know that I can't make it that easy. Where's the fun in that? Enjoy this chapter!**

 _Harry's POV_

It was morning again and I had slept like absolute crap. I felt so horrible for the way I handled things with Draco and felt so embarrassed. I had spent the entire night thinking about the memories and how we were in them. I thought about how we could be here and wondered if I really felt something for him. I closed my eyes and felt an ache in my chest. I missed him. I wanted to see him and have him help me sort through this, but I couldn't face him right now. I couldn't tell him that I was still confused. I didn't want to talk to him again until I knew for sure that I had feelings or I didn't.

I was set to be discharged this morning and Hermione and Ron were taking me to the Weasleys while they were visiting Charlie. I had to find a place to live after this as I didn't really have the opportunity to do so since I was in a coma for six weeks. I sighed as I packed my bags and placed everything that I got from well-wishers into my bags. I was ready by eight. I lay back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.

"Mister Potter, we just wanted to come in and say good-bye," Healer Roberts said as he and Healer O'Neill walked in.

I glanced over at them. I smiled. They had been very helpful and took great care of me. "Thank you for everything that you did for me," I said to them. I sat up to look at them.

They smiled. "We didn't do nearly as much as Mister Malfoy did for you," Healer O'Neill replied.

I smiled slightly. "Yes, he did," I said quietly.

"Harry, did Draco ever tell you anything about how he was able to get through to you when no one else could?" Healer Roberts asked.

He didn't call me Mister Potter and he didn't call Draco, Mister Malfoy, so that caught my attention more. "He speculated that it was because of a life debt bond because I saved him at Hogwarts from certain death," I replied uncertainly.

They nodded. "That could be possible, but in our research, we discovered something else," he said.

"What?" I asked curiously.

"Have you ever heard of a soul bond?" Healer O'Neill asked. I shook my head. "A soul bond is a general bond that can have many different ramifications. It can be between friends or it can be between lovers. It can be built through hate or love. It can develop out of strong dislike and something happens to turn it into strong like, if not love. When two or more people share this bond, you are able to reach each other in ways that others, who don't share this bond with you, can't. If you and Draco had this bond and you had the life debt bond, it would explain how he was able to get through to you and how he was able to be with you. It would explain how his feelings for you became so strong," he continued.

My eyes widened as he went along. I felt the ache in my chest and wondered if this soul bond really did exist between us. That would explain a lot. "Have there been other instances like what Draco and I had in a similar situation?" I asked.

"We found some case studies that seemed very similar to yours. However, since we tested it and made it happen after the first time, it isn't quite the same as other case studies," Healer Roberts replied.

"Did Draco want to do this?" I asked, the question coming to mind suddenly.

The healers exchanged looks and then looked back at me sheepishly. "He did. Towards the end, we could tell that being with you like that was both something he desperately wanted and something that could have destroyed him. We asked him if he wanted to continue helping you that way because we noticed those changes and we believed that it was becoming unethical for us to keep putting him to sleep in the hopes of waking you up. But he wanted to do it," Healer Roberts explained.

I stared at them wanting to be angry because they should have told him no, that they wouldn't do it anymore because it was against all ethical practices, but on the other hand it showed me how much he cared and how much he wanted to be with me. Gah, this was so confusing.

"Do you know what sent me into the coma?" I questioned.

They shook their heads. "We still don't know. It could have been anything because of all that you experienced during the battle. I wish we knew the answer to that question," Healer O'Neill stated.

I nodded. "Well, thank you for that information. Will I need to reschedule a check-up?"

"Yes, in a couple of weeks," Healer O'Neill responded.

I nodded again.

"Harry, can I ask you something?" Healer Roberts asked. I nodded. "Were you and Draco friends before this?"

I chuckled. "No, most definitely not. Quite the opposite actually," I replied.

He nodded. "I thought as much. Well, for someone who was not your friend, he sure looked at you as if you were the most important person in his life. You're lucky to have that, Harry," he continued.

I stared at him with wide eyes. I knew exactly what he was talking about as I had seen that every time I looked at him in the memories and in real life. Draco did love me and if I stopped being confused about everything, I'd feel lucky.

I nodded after a moment because I had no idea what to say to him.

"Harry! Are you ready?" Hermione asked as she came into my hospital room. She stopped short and looked between me and the healers and frowned, looking concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing, Miss Granger. We were just discussing how he'll need to come back in two weeks for a check-up," Healer Roberts replied. Hermione nodded. He looked at me once more and smiled in a way that expressed how he wished Draco and I could be together. "Good luck, Harry and we'll see you in a couple of weeks," he said. He shook my hand as did Healer O'Neill and they left.

"I feel like I'm missing something," she commented after the healers left. She turned to look at me more closely and gasped. I must look awful. "Harry, what on Earth is the matter?" she demanded coming over to me and reaching out to touch my face as she looked closer at me. I wanted to slap her hand away, but I didn't. I noticed that her touch was nowhere near Draco's touch. I sighed. I missed him.

"Just everything, Mione. Can we please leave?" I asked her sadly.

"Not until you tell me what's going on," she responded.

"It's about Draco, okay?" I told her.

She frowned, but nodded knowingly. She grabbed one of my bags and started for the door. I grabbed my other bag and looked around the room. It didn't seem like much anymore, but I knew that this room would be on my mind for days.

We arrived at the Weasleys and Ron was in the kitchen, trying to make some semblance of a breakfast. I smiled and took a seat at the table. I felt happy being back at the Weasleys, but I didn't feel whole. I thought about what I had told Draco in the other plane. I had told him that being with him there had made me feel whole again because of him. I wondered again if that was the bond. Did we have a bond? I wasn't sure.

We ate breakfast in silence. Finally, after Hermione and Ron wouldn't stop exchanging glances and Hermione silently tried to tell Ron that something was wrong with me, I spoke. "Mione, stop trying to get him to figure out that there's something wrong. You know he doesn't understand those subtle cues. Sorry, Ron," I told him sincerely. He shrugged and continued to eat his breakfast.

Hermione puffed her cheeks out and looked away, annoyed. "I'm sorry, Harry, but you're not talking about it and I'm trying to subtly tell _you_ that I want to know what happened."

"I remembered everything that happened with Draco and now I don't know what to do," I replied quietly.

She gasped. "You remembered everything that happened in there?" I nodded. Her eyes widened in surprise. Her curiosity piqued. "Tell us what happened," she encouraged.

I sighed. I wanted to keep it to myself, but I knew that if I didn't figure this out that I could very well lose Draco, if I chose to have him that is. I sighed and launched into everything that we had shared in there and since I woke up.

As I listened to myself explain it, I realized how dumb I was being. It was so obvious that we loved each other and that in real life we could have the same thing. It wouldn't be as easy as in the other plane, but we could still have it.

Hermione's and Ron's expressions differed substantially. As usual, Ron looked like he had seen a ghost. Hermione on the other hand looked like she was listening to the most romantic thing she had ever heard. She seemed to feel the pain and heartache that I had expressed that Draco felt as well as my own fears and pain. She smiled and laughed and got teary eyed as I explained this all to them. Ron still looked very pale and I imagined he would stay that way for some time.

Once I was all done, I dropped my head into my hands and shook my head. "I'm an idiot, Mione. I don't know why I would tell him that I needed to think about this. It's obvious, isn't it?"

She nodded. "It is very obvious, Harry. You two had something in there and I believe what the healers are saying. It makes total sense that you and Draco would be bonded like that. You guys were always wondering what the other was doing and quite preoccupied with one another for years. The soul bond probably changed when you rescued him from the Room of Requirement. It went from being built upon by strong dislike to turning into everything that happened while you were in the coma and when you woke up. If Draco loves you, as it sounds like he does, you'd be stupid not to explore it. You guys are obviously meant to be together. I can't think of any other reason that he would be able to get through to you, when Ron and I couldn't. You're bonded and you're meant to be together. Don't miss out on it. You could be happy for once, Harry. I can hear how you feel about him in your voice. Don't lose your chance," she replied.

I stared at her for a moment. I looked over at Ron and he still looked quite pale. "What do you think, Ron?" I asked.

He looked at me with a look of pure confusion. "I think this is more than my brain can handle, but from what I can process, you guys belong together regardless of how weird that idea is to me," he said quietly.

I laughed and then Hermione laughed and then Ron joined in uncertainly, but we laughed for several minutes. Once we settled, Hermione looked at me with tears in her eyes. "I'm so glad you're awake. It's been awful without you," she said quietly, biting her lip.

I smiled at her and put my arm around her shoulder and gave her a side hug. Ron was looking at me in a manly-I'm so relieved you're awake- kind of way. I grinned at him as well.

"Now, what are you going to do about Malfoy?" Hermione asked.

I sighed and looked down at my hands. "I need to talk to him. I feel like if I don't, I'm making a huge mistake. Do you think he's at his house?"

"Probably, but you can't go there now. You need a shower for one and you should rest. Why don't you wait a couple of days and really be sure that this is what you want? You said so yourself, you don't want to go to him if you aren't sure about your feelings. You owe him a lot, Harry. Give it a couple of days. Be sure," Hermione encouraged.

I nodded. She was right. I needed to be sure.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Short chapter and the second to last one at that. Enjoy!**

 _Draco's POV_

Day one of not being with Harry in any way…. It sucked. I pretty much lied in bed all day staring at the window, wondering if an owl would come for me. It never came. My mother tried to coax me out of bed, but I wouldn't. She would talk to me through the door or floo, but I never responded. I knew Harry had to sort through his feelings, figure out the difference between dream and reality, but did it have to be so hard to wait. Yes, it did. If it's meant to be, it will. I feel like my mother may or may not have told me that sometime today.

I sighed and rolled onto my back, staring up at the ceiling. I had attempted to eat a few times today, but it wasn't much and most of it ended up being picked up by a disgruntled house elf and sent away. I missed Harry terribly and everything that we had shared in coma land and in real life. I still had that ache in my chest and I wondered if it would ever go away. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep again. I relived one of the moments in coma land and felt myself both smiling and feeling sad.

Day two without Harry….. The next morning, I woke up, realizing that I had been asleep for more than twelve hours. I wondered why I was so tired. I wondered if this was what depression felt like. Sheesh, it wasn't very pleasant, but I didn't feel like I had a purpose at the moment. I didn't have a job to do. I wasn't waking up heroes of the Wizarding world anymore. I didn't have a trial to prepare for. I just simply existed without a purpose.

I sat up and walked into the loo, brushing my teeth, and washing my face. I contemplated what my new purpose would be, but it seemed to send me to thinking about Harry no matter how much I tried to think of something that didn't involve him. This was ridiculous. He hadn't completely written me off. He just needed time. I sighed and walked back into my bedroom. I lied down again and grabbed one of my extra pillows and held it against me as I stared out the window. I closed my eyes again and was soon asleep.

 **XXXX**

 _Harry's POV_

My first day at the Burrow had been okay. I spent a lot of time thinking about Draco while simultaneously spending time with Hermione and Ron. We didn't talk about Draco anymore, but they let me contemplate things the entire day. I was feeling better as far as not being really tired and I was able to get around like before my coma. That was really nice. I felt a bit weak still, but not too much. I did feel an ache in my chest where I knew Draco was connected. I wondered all day what he was doing at several times in the day. Was he reading? Was he eating? Was he sleeping? Was he playing chess? Brewing potions? Merlin, I wanted to see him. I had to know for sure that we were supposed to be together. I believed that we were, but I needed to see him to confirm it.

The next morning, I was eating breakfast in the kitchen. Hermione and Ron weren't awake yet. I had been feeling restless and thinking more and more about Draco. I felt like something might be off with him. I had a strange feeling. I hoped that he was alright.

I stood and put my dish away and then walked out into the garden. I took in a few deep breaths and started to walk around the property. I wondered if I should go and see Draco today, but I knew that I should give myself more time to think even though I kept coming back to wanting to be with him and talk to him and kiss him. I did want him for real. I wanted him since I remembered our first kiss at the Quidditch pitch. Ugh, why did this have to be so hard? It didn't. I was making it hard.

 **XXXX**

 _Draco's POV_

Day two, midafternoon….. I wasn't really aware of what time it was or probably even what day it was, but I didn't really care. I still hadn't figured out a purpose for myself. Was it to be with Harry? Was that my only purpose now? I didn't even know if that would be a possibility. I hadn't heard from him all day yesterday and this day was nearly over and I still hadn't heard from him. He probably decided he didn't want me. I'm positive that he doesn't want me. Our last memory together, in coma land, came back to me. I replayed it vividly and found myself getting all teary-eyed again.

I was a mess. I was a poor excuse for a Malfoy. I had gotten too deeply involved with someone who may or may not return my feelings for real. I had latched onto something that I knew I shouldn't have. Harry and I could never be together. He would never go for it. Why would he want someone like me anyway? I was nothing, but a spoiled kid who figured out a little too late that life was more than just getting what you want all the time. I started to cry about everything that I had done in my life to ruin it. Harry. Dumbledore. Letting in Death Eaters. Harry. Granger. Weasleys. Harry. Severus. Hagrid. Harry. Mother. Father. Harry. Poor excuse for a human, if you ask me.

My mother hadn't bugged me all day which was probably for the best. I didn't want to talk to her still and I didn't want to deal with anything that she thought would be best for me. I just wanted to get through this pain of not being with Harry and then hopefully figure out life before I was stuck like this forever.

While crying, I heard a noise outside my door. I glanced over at it, but turned away, not caring what was happening out there. No one would be coming to see me and even if they did, it would just be my mother. Of course, when my door blasted open, I thought otherwise.

I sat up quickly, reaching for my wand, and pointing it at the door. My mother was standing there looking quite frazzled and glaring at me. I dropped my wand, lay down again, and looked away from her.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy. What in the world do you think you're doing?" she demanded angrily.

I sighed loudly, but didn't respond. She walked over and thrust her wand at me sending a stinging hex at me. A rather strong stinging hex at that. I cried out in pain and leapt out of bed. "Mother!" I cried.

She stopped and glared at me. "The first words out of your mouth for two days are simply 'mother'?" she demanded.

"Yes, dammit. Now leave me alone. I don't want to talk to anyone right now," I told her as I walked back to my bed, climbed in, and threw the blankets over my head.

"Not even me," someone else said.

I froze. The voice was someone I never expected to hear again in my home. I slowly brought the blankets down and looked over at the door. Harry was standing there looking at me in concern. My mother looked at me smugly and turned with a flick of her robes, leaving my room, shutting the door behind her, and leaving Harry and I alone in my room.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Oh dear, this is the last chapter before the epilogue. I love this chapter :) I hope you all do too!**

 _Harry's POV_

As I walked around the property, I started to feel calmer. I felt like I could wait until tomorrow to see Draco. Things would be fine. We would talk. I'd tell him that I was an idiot and that I've wanted him since the Room of Requirement and then we'd go on with life, figuring it out together.

I felt better. I had a bit of a spring in my step and my mind had been made up. I wanted Draco. I really, truly wanted him. For real. I smiled as I made my way back to the Burrow. Halfway there, I saw an owl flying in. I watched as it soared towards the house and then veered off to me. I stretched out my arm and it landed gingerly on my arm, sticking out a leg for me. I took the letter from it and gave it a nice scratch before I sent it on its way. I wondered who was writing to me.

I unfolded the letter and started to read it. My calmness zipped away from me as I read the letter several times before any of it made sense to me.

 _Dear Mister Potter,_

 _I am writing to you out of pure desperation. Draco is not well. I know that you are unsure how you feel about him and I understand, but Draco is hurting and I'm worried for him. He loves you, more than I think he realizes. He put himself through hell to bring you out of that coma and while none of that is your fault because he made the choice to continually be put to sleep to be with you, you have a responsibility to either tell him that you appreciate what he did, but you do not want what happened there in real life with him or tell him that you love him too. He has not left his room for two days now. He has not talked to anyone for two days. He has not even left his bed for two days. I'm very worried for him. I do not know if he will recover from this. Please come and talk to him. Give him the answer he needs to hear whether good or bad. Draco cannot stay like this, waiting for you to decide what you want. I want you to be sure so only come see him if you are sure one way or the other. I do not think he can handle you still not knowing. The floo is open._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Narcissa Malfoy_

Draco's not well…. Draco's not well….. Be sure…. Merlin, what have I done? I ran inside the Burrow and into the kitchen. Hermione and Ron were eating breakfast when I walked in and they looked up at me with big smiles that soon fell when they saw me. I imagined that I looked frantic and concerned and worried and scared. I thrust the letter at Hermione which she grabbed worriedly. I paced in front of the fireplace as I double and triple checked how I felt. I came up with the same answer each time.

"Oh, Harry, have you made a decision?" she asked, worry in her tone.

"Yes," I stated. I grabbed some floo powder, stepped into the fireplace, and threw it down. "Malfoy Manor!" I cried as I felt the familiar feeling of flooing. I tumbled out of the floo and managed to stay on my feet somehow. I brushed my clothes off of soot and looked up. Narcissa Malfoy was standing in the doorway looking desperately at me.

"Thank goodness. You're sure? Whatever your decision is?" she asked urgently. I nodded. "Good. This way," she stated as she turned and left the floo room. I followed her nervously, taking in the parts of the Manor that I was viewing. It seemed better than the last time I had been there. I followed her up the stairs and down a long hallway. I saw several portraits watching me walk by. They all looked at me curiously.

We stopped outside a door near the end of the hall. "Now, stand back a moment, this is going to take some extra wand work," she said confidently. I stared at her with wide eyes. What was she going to do, blast the door in?

"You're positive that that's not going to hurt him?" I questioned. She nodded as she readied her wand and cast a charm that busted the door open. I stared at her with wide eyes as she moved quickly into Draco's room, very angry.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy. What in the world do you think you're doing?" she demanded angrily.

I heard Draco sigh loudly, but he said nothing. I watched as Narcissa walked further into the room and thrust her wand out, sending a stinging hex at him. A rather strong, stinging hex. I cringed as the hex met its mark and Draco leapt out of bed, crying out in pain. "Mother!" he cried.

She stopped and glared at him. "The first words out of your mouth for two days are simply 'mother'?" she demanded.

"Yes, dammit. Now leave me alone. I don't want to talk to anyone right now," he told her as he walked back to his bed, climbed in, and threw the blankets over his head. My heart hurt seeing him this way. I had to make this right. I knew, even despite the pain he was in and the way he looked right now, that I definitely wanted him.

"Not even me," I called out quietly.

I watched as he froze and slowly brought the blankets down. I saw Narcissa turn and look at me smugly before she mimicked a Snape move and strode out of Draco's room, robes billowing behind her, looking quite proud of herself. My eyes settled on Draco as the door closed behind me. I knew I was showing him how concerned I was.

I stepped in further, looking him over. He definitely didn't look well. "Hi," I said quietly, unsure of what else I could say to him right now.

"Hi," he said just as quietly. I looked around his room, trying to gather my thoughts. He had a very nice room, exactly as I expected except it was warmer than I imagined it would be.

"You have a great room," I said dumbly.

He frowned at me as he looked around and shrugged. "It serves its purpose," he said. His eyes widened as if saying that affected him somehow. I wasn't sure what his thinking was in relation to that.

I looked back at him, studying him. He looked tired and stressed. His hair was matted and his skin was pale. He didn't appear that he had eaten at all and he had bags under his eyes. I had done this to him. "Do you mind if I come in, have a seat maybe?" I asked, gesturing to his bed. He glanced down at his bed and then back at me, nodding. I walked over and took a seat at the foot of his bed. We were still quite a bit away from each other considering that his bed was so large. Just as well.

"How are you?" he asked. He was sitting up now, against his headboard. He had the blankets around his waist and I could see that he was probably wearing pajamas. I loved seeing him this relaxed aside from the sadness and not looking well. I wanted to laugh though too because clearly I should be asking him that question.

"I'm better. I'm more clear-headed than a couple of days ago," I told him. He nodded, but looked worried. "How are you?" I asked.

He looked down at his fingers which were tugging at a nonexistent string on his blanket. "Honestly?" he asked.

"Always," I replied. He looked up at me for a moment with wide eyes. I imagined this was going to not be as easy of a conversation as I would have liked.

He looked away again and looked back down at his hands and the nonexistent string. "Well, I haven't left my bed for all of less than five minutes to wash my face and brush my teeth. I've barely eaten and I've slept more than I have ever slept before in my life," he replied.

I sighed. I knew this already from the letter his mother sent me. "And?" I knew there was more that he had been thinking about.

He sighed, not looking up at me. "I've been contemplating my purpose now. I have no idea what I'm going to do now. I don't feel like I have a purpose anymore. I feel like I've made a huge mistake in regards to you and screwed up, _again_."

I narrowed my gaze at him for two reasons. One, he was questioning what his purpose was, therefore questioning himself and two, he felt like he screwed up in regards to me. "First of all, you have a purpose; you always have a purpose, even if you aren't sure what it is. Second of all, how did you screw up in regards to me?" I demanded.

"I know I have a purpose, but right now, I'm not sure what it is. I don't know what I'm going to do with my life. As far as screwing up with you, I shouldn't have let things happen the way they did. I feel like I just confused you more than you already were," he replied quietly.

"I was confused, but now I'm clear-headed and surer than I have ever been. Your purpose, Draco, is to be with me. You and I are meant to be together. You were meant to break through the walls that were put up because of my coma. You and I were already determined to have some sort of connection and I am grateful that it changed from being enemies to being lovers. We're meant to be. I'm so sure of it that I would bet my life on it. I'm sorry that I was so confused and that I couldn't see through my emotions, to see how much I needed you in real life. I have felt like part of my soul was missing again only this time it wasn't because of a horcrux. It was because I wasn't with you. I told you, in that last memory, that you made me feel whole again. You have. The horcrux ripped my soul, but you came and repaired it. I'm positive that that is why I went into that coma and I am positive that because of the life debt bond and another bond that we have, that you were able to get through, when nothing and no one else could, to bring me back to reality. I screwed up, not you. I knew that last day in the hospital everything I'm telling you now, but I was so afraid that I was just confusing dream me's feelings with real me's feelings when in actuality they are one in the same. I'm sorry, Draco, for all of this," I told him.

He stopped playing with the invisible string and looked up at me as I gave my speech. He looked at me in disbelief. I sighed, wishing that I hadn't put him in such a vulnerable position. "You believe all that?" he asked uncertainly.

I laughed and shook my head. I moved closer to him. I reached out and grabbed one of his hands which had started fidgeting again. "Yes, I do. I'm sorry that I've made everything so hard for you. I wanted to come to you the day I left the hospital, but I had to be sure. I'm sure, Draco. I want to be with you. I want everything that happened in my coma, to happen in real life. Do you still want that with me?" I asked.

He looked at me thoughtfully and then looked back down at our joined hands. "Are you completely sure about this Harry? It won't be as easy as it was on the other plane. You've got your friends here and we have obligations. I want you to be one hundred percent positive about this," he reminded me.

I knew it wasn't going to be easy. I knew that it was going to be difficult, but I was sure, one hundred percent. "I'm sure about this," I assured him.

He sighed and smiled at me. "Good," he said quietly.

I moved closer to him, leaning towards him. He leaned towards me, but stopped. I looked at him in confusion. "Are you okay?" I asked him uncertainly, leaning back.

"As badly as I want to kiss you right now, I have been in this bed for two days and well, I would feel so much better if I took a shower. Can you give me a second?" he asked, blushing deeply.

I laughed and nodded. He got out of his bed and I watched him as he walked towards his bathroom. I grinned and moved so that I was leaning against the headboard. A house elf popped in with a tray of food. He set it on a small table and while I waited for Draco, I took a seat at the table and ate a sandwich.

Sometime later, he came out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist and another around his shoulders that he used to dry his hair. I watched with wide eyes as he opened his wardrobe and found some clothes, taking them back into the bathroom. I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding and looked back at my sandwich, my cheeks warming considerably. Draco hadn't looked at me when he came out which was just as well because I wasn't sure I could hide the way I was feeling about his current attire or lack thereof.

He came back out, dressed, and looking better than ever. He looked at the food and came over and sat. He took a sandwich and started to eat like he hadn't eaten in days which essentially he hadn't.

"Hungry?" I asked in a teasing tone.

"Ravenous," he replied with a mouthful of food. I laughed and finished my sandwich a lot more calmly than Draco was eating his. I sobered quickly as I realized that this was my fault. I frowned, not really hungry anymore. He looked up at me and shook his head. "Stop. You didn't make me not eat."

I sighed and nodded. He stood and put his hand out towards me. I took it and stood. He walked over to his bed, climbing on and pulling me with him. I felt warm all of a sudden and nervous. However, he surprised me by just sitting against the headboard. I settled in next to him, feeling a bit less nervous.

He reached over and linked our fingers together. "Harry, will you lie down with me?" he asked after a few minutes. My nervousness came back tenfold as I nodded. Draco waved his wand and the room darkened considerably, despite the light outside. It wasn't nearly as dark as the last memory, but I knew what he was trying to replicate. We lied down facing each other. I was unbelievably nervous.

"You look nervous," he said quietly.

I laughed quietly. "I am."

"You don't need to be. I just wanted to lie here with you and just be with you. It doesn't have to be nerve racking," he assured me.

"I know, but I feel like you're trying to replicate the last memory," I replied.

He frowned and looked around. "It does appear so…" he trailed off. He rolled onto his back, no longer facing me.

I propped up on my elbow and looked down at him. He had his right arm over his eyes, shielding them from me. "I only meant that I don't want to disappoint you in case this moment is not as great as the memory," I told him, reaching out to lift his arm off his eyes. I moved his arm and saw him open his eyes. His gray eyes looked stormy and tormented. I didn't like it one bit so I leaned down and did what I'd wanted to do since I got there. I kissed him.

He responded immediately and wrapped his arms around my back, pulling me closer. It was amazing, just as every kiss we had shared both here and in the coma plane. I broke the kiss and lifted my head and looked down at him.

He smiled at me. "If you're for real and you remember this in the morning, it's already better than the memory," he said in a teasing tone.

I narrowed my gaze at him. "I will remember it. I'll remember everything now in relation to you," I responded.

He laughed quietly and turned onto his side again. I lied back down and faced him. His gray eyes looked much less tormented and I could see a hint of blue in them. I wondered why I had never noticed that before. Probably because anytime that I was looking closely enough at him we were fighting.

"Draco, do you still want me?" I asked quietly.

He reached up and cupped my cheek, brushing his thumb against my lips. I closed my eyes, relishing in his touch. He leaned forward, kissing me gently. I felt my stomach warm and my heart beat faster. I wanted him so badly and I just hoped that he still wanted me too, for real. He had said as much, but I needed to hear him say it.

He increased the pressure of the kiss, moving his hand from my face and used it to pull me closer to him. Our bodies aligned, just as they had done so perfectly in my memory. He moved back for a moment and looked at me, searching my eyes.

"Harry, I've thought of nothing else since that day I came to thank you. I came back every time, so that I could be with you. I knew what I was doing. I knew that I was making a mistake in the sense that I would only be hurt in the end, but I couldn't stop myself. I've wanted you for so long. Before, it was just as a friend, but now, it's so much more than that. I want you more than anything else in my life," he told me.

I moved forward and kissed him again, expressing to him how pleased I was about this. I had one more question to ask him so I broke the kiss and leaned back to look at him.

"Do you love me?" I asked quietly, my voice wavering, showing my nervousness.

His eyes widened and a blush colored his cheeks. "Yes," he whispered.

"Tell me," I whispered back.

"I love you," he replied quietly.

I moved forward again, kissing him with every fiber of my being, showing him just how much those three little words meant to me. I didn't realize that they would matter so much, but they did. It filled me with so much warmth and I felt something solid settling into my soul. It felt like the spot that had been ripped out from the horcrux had been replaced by something else that filled me with peace. I knew it had to be Draco and I knew it had to be our bond. He made me better.

Draco wrapped his arms around me, changing our positions so that I was beneath him. He broke the kiss and moved to kiss a path along my jaw line and to my neck. I closed my eyes, arching into him, appreciating the feel of him against me. This was better than the memory because I was able to experience his love and care for real this time. It felt even more wonderful than I imagined it would. A part of me was responding to him that hadn't before and while it surprised me, I didn't try to stop it. We needed the connection that it would provide to solidify our bond.

We moved against each other as he came back to my lips asking for entrance. I granted entrance to him and our kiss deepened. Things became frenzied then and I wasn't really sure what happened when, but soon our kisses became softer and tenderer and our breathing seemed to calm. Draco slid off of me, but pulled me against him, holding me close. He buried his face in my hair and I felt him kiss me gently. He was more amazing than how he was in my memory, if that was even possible.

I felt a sensation over a certain area as he cast a cleansing spell on me. I sighed and snuggled into him. Merlin, I'm so glad I remembered everything and so glad that my feelings for him were real. I couldn't imagine missing out on this. Not the snogging per say, but being held close and protectively. The way he held me against him made me feel both loved and safe.

"Do you love me?" he whispered in my ear. A chill trilled through my back as he lightly kissed my ear. Mother of Merlin….

"Yes," I whispered in a shaky voice.

"Tell me," he repeated my words from before.

"I love you, Draco," I said quietly, but with a stronger tone.

I felt him smile against my ear and I turned to look at him. His eyes were shining brightly and the look he was giving me confirmed that I loved him. I was so glad I remembered everything. I couldn't possibly imagine missing out on him. He leaned down and kissed me again. This was how it was meant to be. I rescued him from the Room of Requirement so that he could rescue me and bring us to this point. I didn't know it at the time, but he was meant to be my one and only. We were bonded and it went deeper than just a life debt bond. Our souls were bonded together in a way that I couldn't imagine them ever breaking. I loved him and he loved me. We could have the future we both deserved, with each other. Merlin, I'm so glad I woke up.


	20. Epilogue

**A/N: That's it! This story is done. I love this epilogue too. Thank you everyone who has reviewed, followed, favorited and anything else you might have done. I love this story and I really think it's probably my favorite Drarry that I've written. I'm not sure when the next story will come around in my head, but hopefully not nearly as long as it took for this and _Two Paths_ to come about. Thanks again everyone and enjoy this very last chapter! Be on the lookout for more :)**

 _Epilogue_

 _Draco's POV_

It had been two glorious weeks since Harry had come to the Manor to tell me that he felt the same as I did about him. Two glorious weeks of snogging and more snogging and some other things that were more intense than snogging. Needless to say, it had been two amazing weeks. Now we were back at the hospital for Harry's check-up.

We were placed into a room that was off of Healer Roberts and Healer O'Neill's offices. "So, do you think you'll pass with flying colors?" I asked him as he sat down next to me. He instantly reached for my hand and linked our fingers together.

"Well, I haven't forgotten anything over the past two weeks so I'd say that's progress," Harry pointed out.

"That's true. You sure would forget a lot of great things," I whispered against his ear as I kissed him gently.

His cheeks colored and he laughed nervously. "Oh, Merlin, would I," he responded thoughtfully.

His eyes widened as he seemed to remember something. "What's wrong?" I asked.

He looked a bit sheepish. "Well, I did forget something," he said.

I looked at him in confusion. "What did you forget?"

"Well, now keep in mind that I got very caught up in things with you and making sure that you knew how I felt and had been feeling since that last day at the hospital and then just enjoying being with you doing you know…. wonderful things," he reminded me.

I narrowed my gaze at him, wondering what he wasn't telling me. "Harry…." I warned.

"Your mum sent me a letter telling me what was going on with you when I came to see you that day," he told me, closing his eyes and looking down in front of him.

My eyes widened in surprise. "You weren't going to come talk to me?"

He looked up at me, turning so that he faced me better. "No, I was. I was just going to wait one more day. I wanted to be absolutely sure before I came to see you. I didn't need more than that first day anyway, but I had to be sure, Draco. I didn't want to tell you one thing when I wasn't completely set on it. She wrote to me, telling me how worried she was about you and told me that I needed to talk to you and tell you one way or another, what I wanted for us. She didn't sway my decision at all. She didn't tell me what I felt; she simply told me how worried she was about you and to talk to you. I triple checked how I felt before I even left the Burrow. I knew that I loved you and I knew that I wanted you. Your mother's letter just pushed the inevitable up a couple of hours. She didn't sway me," he explained to me.

I wanted to be upset about this and be worried that she had forced his hand, but over the past couple of weeks, I had never gotten a hint of reluctance or regret from him for being with me. We were solid. My mother just helped move things along at a faster pace. I'd have to thank her for that. "I believe you," I told him after I thought it through.

He smiled at me and I leaned forward to kiss him. It didn't last long as I heard a rattle at the door. I broke away and turned to look as the door opened and Harry's healers came in. They saw us together and they both smiled brightly.

"Harry, Draco, I'm so glad to see you both and together for that matter," Healer Roberts said as he walked in, taking a seat across from us. Healer O'Neill sat down in the other seat. I felt my face heat and glanced sideways at Harry and saw that his cheeks were coloring as well.

"I stopped being an idiot and told him how I felt," Harry replied with a laugh.

Both healers laughed and nodded. "Good. We're pleased that it all worked out in the end, even if it took a lot to get there. Well, Harry, how about you sit up here and we'll get the check-up done," Healer O'Neill directed.

I watched as they went through the check-up and asked Harry several questions to be sure that he was remembering things and that his cognition was good. Harry grinned at me a few times and it was on his last smile, towards the end of the check-up, that something hit me like a ton of bricks and made my stomach flop and my heart start to race. An idea came to mind that I knew wouldn't happen for some time, but it was still there. I must have paled and my eyes widened because the next time Harry looked at me, he looked concerned.

"Well, Harry, it looks like you're in tip top shape. I think we'll want to see you in another six months, just to be sure that everything is still in order, but it looks like you don't have any lasting effects from the coma and that you're going to be just fine," Healer O'Neill said at the end. I barely heard him as I was still contemplating the idea that had come to mind.

"Great. Thank you so much for everything. We'll see you again in six months," Harry said as he hopped down from the examination table and walked back over to me.

I vaguely heard the healers say good-bye to us and I'm pretty sure I acknowledged them, but I was still thinking about my thought. For some reason it both filled me with intense joy, but also intense nervousness.

"Draco, what's the matter?" Harry asked me, drawing my attention away from my thoughts. He was standing in front of me. I looked up at him and shook my head, clearing my expression.

"Sorry, um, nothing, just a thought that came to mind. Are you all done?" I asked as I stood up and looked down at him. He crossed his arms and didn't move narrowing his gaze at me.

"I'm done, but we aren't leaving until you tell me what your thought was," he said calmly.

I sighed. I should have done a better job of hiding what I had thought of. "It's just a silly thought for down the road, like way down the road," I replied, trying to side step him, but didn't get anywhere as he put his arm out, stopping me.

"Draco…." he warned, using the same tone as I had at the beginning of his appointment.

I sighed and stepped back. "Well, I was just thinking about you know, us and the future," I told him.

"What about it?" he asked uncertainly.

I looked up and locked my gaze with his. His green eyes were bright and filled with worry at what I was thinking. I smiled and brushed my finger against the furrow that had appeared between his eyebrows. "The words in sickness and in health popped into my head when you were getting your check-up," I told him quietly.

His eyes widened. "Um, that's a muggle phrase, isn't it?" His voice was a bit higher than usual.

"Yes," I replied quietly.

"A muggle phrase that is said in wedding vows…." he trailed off, looking quite similar to how I imagined I looked when the idea came to mind.

"Yeah," I said again.

"Well, um, I don't know what to say about that…" he trailed off again.

"I'm not asking you now, obviously, but it was just something that popped into my head that surprised me. I didn't mean to express the thought openly," I told him quietly. We stared at each other for a few moments awkwardly.

"Well, I have been meaning to ask you something," Harry said finally.

I felt my eyes widen and my heart started to beat faster again. "What?" I whispered.

He grinned slightly at me, knowing exactly what he was doing to me. "I was wondering if, hmmm, Draco, will you….." he paused as he seemed to be thinking of the right wording.

Oh, Merlin, I was going to pass out. I felt light-headed. Just because I had the thought, didn't mean I was ready to marry him right this second or even remotely become engaged. I mean, what other question could start with 'Draco, will you…' that related to what I was talking about just now. Could he really be asking me that? I'm not sure if I'd be able to say yes at this point. Who was I kidding, of course I'd say yes….

I focused on him again and noticed that he was smirking at me. He looked quite proud of himself. "You know, you're not very good at hiding your emotions," he pointed out, still smirking at me.

I glared at him. "Well, you started a question with 'Draco, will you…' and then you never finished it. There's only so much that can start with those words," I pointed out, finding my voice.

He laughed. "Will you go on a date with me? Will you take a walk with me? Will you kiss me? Shall I continue?"

I crossed my arms and continued to glare down at him. "In the context of what we were talking about right now, there is only one phrase that goes with that," I replied.

He grinned and stepped towards me, kissing me gently. "I know that's why I said it. I knew it'd get a reaction out of you," he teased.

I pursed my lips, not pleased at all with his joke. "I don't appreciate it and I feel like you're making fun of my thought," I told him honestly as I managed to get around him and head for the door.

"Draco, wait," he called out as my hand touched the knob. I stopped, but didn't turn around. I was embarrassed.

"I'm sorry. I was just, I don't know reacting in an inappropriate way to an amazing idea," he apologized.

"If it's so amazing, why would you tease me about it?" I asked still not looking at him.

"Because the idea makes me nervous, but not in a bad way. I really did want to ask you something, just not that," he replied, moving closer to me.

I sighed and turned to look at him. He did look sorry. "What?" I asked quietly.

His cheeks colored and he looked down between us. He took a deep breath. "Will you move in with me?" he asked.

My eyebrows shot up into my hair line. "To the Burrow?" I asked in near horror.

He laughed and shook his head. "Merlin, no. I've got a house in Wiltshire that I've been setting up when we haven't been together. I purchased it in the hopes that you'd want to live with me," he told me quietly.

My heart started to race again. Live with Harry? As in, I could have him from sun up to sun down and wake up every morning with him and go to bed every night with him? Eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner together? Lounge around the house in any manner that we chose? That I definitely couldn't say no to.

"Wow, that is a brilliant question," I replied.

He looked up at me hopefully. "So will you?" he asked again.

"Only if you can answer a question first," I responded.

"What's that?" he asked curiously.

"Will you marry me….." I paused as his eyes widened and the color in his face drained. "Someday?" I finished, grinning at him.

He let out a breath and narrowed his gaze at me. "That was not nice, _Malfoy_ ," he replied in that tone that I adored.

I lifted an eyebrow at him. "Serves you right for teasing me, _Potter_."

He grinned and stepped towards me, pushing me up against the door. We aligned perfectly, as we always do. He kissed the corner of my mouth and kissed a path to my ear. "Answer my question first and then I'll answer yours," he whispered against my ear sending chills rushing through me.

I felt my knees start to shake and Harry reached down with one hand at my waist, touching me soothingly. "Yes, I'll live with you," I breathed shakily.

I felt him smile against my cheek. "Then, yes, I'll marry you…. someday," he breathed back, kissing me gently. I let of whoosh of air out and wrapped my arms around his waist. He kissed a path back to my lips and planted a promising kiss on them. We were moving in together and we would eventually get married. Merlin, I loved him so much and I am so glad that we are _finally_ on the same plane of existence.


End file.
